Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has come under criticism for his brutal crackdown of suspected drug dealers in the Philippines, which has left thousands dead. | Maxim Shemetov/Getty Images Duterte to Trump on human rights: 'That is not your business'

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will tell his U.S. counterpart to “lay off” if he raises the issue of human rights when the two men meet in person later this week.

“You want to ask a question, I’ll give you an answer. Lay off. That is not your business. That is my business. I take care of my country and I will nurture my country to health,” Duterte told reporters on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.


President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam later this week, an event Duterte is also scheduled to attend. The U.S. president will finish his five-nation Asia trip with a visit to Manila, which is hosting the ASEAN summit.

Duterte has come under criticism for his brutal crackdown of suspected drug dealers in the Philippines, which has left thousands dead. Some have said Duterte’s war on drugs has amounted to a wave of extrajudicial executions, allegations that the government denies.

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Despite the criticisms, Trump has spoken warmly of Duterte and said last May that he was doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

