Colombia Sees Coca Cultivationโค Rise, President Petro Disputes US โClaims of 300% Increase
BOGOTร – Cocaโ leaf crops in Colombia โคincreased byโฃ 3% in 2024, reachingโ 262,000 hectares, according โto figures recently reported by President gustavo petro while in Saudi Arabia. Teh data, from the United Nations Integrated Illicit Crops Monitoring System, had not been publicly released prior to Petro’s โproclamation. The increase follows years of fluctuating cultivation levels, and has sparked debate over the effectiveness of Colombia’s anti-drug โpolicies and accusations leveled โagainst Petro’s management.
Petro qualified the figures,stating thatโค 80,000โข hectares of the โขtotal have been abandoned for more than โthree years,and another 22,000 are transitioning to legal crops. He attributed the sustained cultivation to increased cocaine consumption in โขEurope, southern cone cities, and Australia, while suggestingโค a plateau in USโ demand due toโค rising fentanyl โuse.
The reported increase sharply contrasts with claims made by US Representative Marรญa โElvira Salazar, who asserted that coca โcrops grew byโ 300% under Petro’s administration. salazar further criticized โPetro, calling him “a โฃthief, a Marxist, andโ a terrorist” and stating he was unwelcome in theโ United States.
Petro dismissed Salazar’s claims as a “huge lie,” citing past โdata. He โpointed to a 111% increase in coca cultivation โin 2013 during the Santos administration,andโ a 42% increase in โ2021 under Duque,compared to โคa 12% increase during his two years in office.
The White House has expressed disapproval of Petro’s drug policy, maintaining decertificationโค ofโค Colombia. Accusations from former Presidentโฃ Trump and his alliesโ have even alleged Petro’s involvement with drug trafficking, leading to his inclusion – along with his wife, Verรณnica Alcocer, son Nicolรกs Petro, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti – on the Clinton List.