The increase in the crops of the main source of cocaine occurred against the backdrop of a revision by the country’s authorities of their drug strategy.
Colombia is setting new records for coca cultivation and cocaine production in 2022. The Financial Times reported this on September 12, citing a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
It was noted that the area of coca cultivation last year increased by 13% compared to 2021 – up to 230 thousand hectares.
Cocaine production rose 24% to 1,738 tons, the highest level in two decades.
“We are very concerned that every year there is an increase in coca crops in the country,” said UNODC regional director Candice Welsh.
As the publication notes, this trend may be related to the policies of Gustavo Petr, Colombia’s first leftist leader.
He called for a rethink of the country’s approach to drugs and stressed that the militarized approach taken by the United States and its predecessors is a failure because it criminalizes “poor farmers” instead of treating cocaine use as a public health problem.
We remind you that Colombia is the main producer and exporter of cocaine in the world. More than 90% of the world’s coca plantations are located in the Andean triangle – Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.
Earlier, Tajikistan said that after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, drug production in the country increased.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.