Colombia last month entirely halted the eradication of coca, the raw material for cocaine, as the government of President Gustavo Petro calls for a new approach in the war on drugs.
The nation had already stopped aerial spraying with herbicides in 2015 over fears that they cause cancer, but had continued to send in teams to dig coca shrubs up by hand.
Petro, who took office last August, has called the decades of U.S.-backed eradication efforts a failure, which have fueled violence while failing to cut consumption. He is hoping to achieve “total peace” by negotiating with the armed groups that control cocaine-producing regions, and favors giving farmers financial incentives to grow legal crops.
National Police chief General Henry Sanabria told reporters this week that eradication was paused in January while the authorities prepare contracts for the teams of eradicators.
More than 400 hectares of coca have been eradicated in February so far, Sanabria said.
Satellite images show that the amount of land in Colombia planted with coca rose to a record of more than 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) in 2021, enough to produce about 1,400 tons of cocaine. Colombia produces more of the drug than the rest of the world combined.
Petro’s government has said it will focus on intercepting cocaine shipments and pursuing assets acquired by criminals, rather than going after the poorest coca farmers. However, farmers who don’t agree to voluntarily eradicate coca will have their crops dug up by force, the Defense Ministry said in a reply to written questions.
Authorities seized 40 tons of cocaine last month, according to the ministry, down 31% from a year earlier. They also destroyed 607 laboratories used to process the drug, which is up 11% from the same period in 2022.
“The U.S. must be disappointed that the government is not complying with its eradication schedule,” said Sergio Guzman, a political analyst at Colombia Risk. “For the U.S., the priority of the relationship with Colombia will continue to be drugs.”
Since 1996, Colombia has received more than $10 billion in U.S. aid to fight drug production.
