The latest report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime -October 2022- revealed that in Colombia there are, at least, 204,000 hectares planted with coca leaf. The figure represented an increase of 43% compared to 2020. However, in the first month of this year the government did not eradicate a single plant of this illicit crop in the country.
A report from the Observatory for Human Rights and National Defense detailed that in January 2022, 2,982 hectares planted with this illegal activity were manually eradicated, while in the first 31 days of 2023 the official balance was 0.
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“I will tell the officials that we devise the program so that a farmer can still grow coca leaves while planting the substitute crop, until proving that the substitute crop works. And if it works, there is no need for the other anymore”, were the statements of President Gustavo Petro last December.
The government has considered that persecuting the first link in drug trafficking – a farmer who cultivates – is not an effective solution in the fight against drugs. The president himself even asked that the eradication goal be lowered by almost 60% while his ministries reformulate the public policy to replace this illicit crop.
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The report delivered by the Ministry of Defense also details that throughout 2022 they were eradicated 68,893 hectares of coca leaf, figure that represented a reduction compared to 2021 when the balance was 103,257 hectares.
According to the UN, 62% of the crops for illicit use are concentrated in the departments of Nariño, North Santander and Putumayo. The government had already said that it is evaluating the possibility of buying the coca leaf from growers.
The Executive’s insistence has been that the strategy is to attack the drug trafficker of the coca paste that he exports to other countries in North America and Europe.
Cocaine seizures also decreased compared to the previous year. In January 2023, 40 tons of cocaine were seized, while in the same period of the previous year there were 58.7 tons.