Colombia has broken a new historical record for drug crops, with 204,000 hectares of coca leaf planted in 2021, according to an annual UN report published this Thursday.
The world’s largest cocaine producer “reports a 43% increase in the area planted with coca in the country, from 143,000 hectares in 2020 to 204,000 in 2021,” said the United Nations Office on Cocaine and Crime (UNODC). ).
This figure is the highest ever recorded by the UN since it began monitoring cocaine production in 2001. Along with its cultivation, the manufacture of cocaine, which is transported from Colombia to the United States and Europe, also increased from 1,010 tons to 1400 tons.
The world’s largest producer of cocaine
The departments of Nariño and Putumayo, on the border with Ecuador, are the most productive regions with 89,266 hectares. Catatumbo, a neighboring region of Venezuela is in second place with 42,576 hectares.
The UN points out that the increase in coca leaf plantations and cocaine production is mainly due to “territorial vulnerability”, “growing global demand” and the presence of armed actors who profit from this trade.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has offered the United States a new approach to fighting drug trafficking, which until now has been considered a failure.
Source: BFM TV
