Colombia reduced coca crops by 4.5% in 2021

Colombia reduced the number of hectares used for illicit crops and drug production in 2021, according to the report from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

The report, published Thursday in Washington, indicates a reduction of 11,000 hectares of illicit crops, from 245,000 hectares in 2020 to 234,000 hectares in 2021.

Consequently, there was also a decrease in cocaine production of 2.2% during 2021, since the number of metric tons detected in Colombia fell from 994 tons in 2020 to 972 during the previous year.

However, the report notes that “the figures for Coca cultivation and cocaine production decreased, but remained high at 234,000 hectares and 972 metric tons, respectively.

In this regard, Minister Diego Molano said on Thursday that “during the four years of President Duque’s government we have managed to manually eradicate 400,000 hectares thanks to the work and effort of more than 21,000 men from our Police and the National Army.”

Regarding the seizure processes, Minister Diego explained that, in the last four years, the authorities seized 2,206 tons, 669 of them last year.

The official described the report as a reflection of the work of the Government and the military forces in the fight against drugs.

According to a statement from the Ministry, “in this four-year period, 34 people have been killed in eradication tasks, 30 from the Public Force and 4 civilian eradicators. Likewise, 269 wounded have been reported, 61 civilian eradicators and 208 from the public force.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to continuing to cooperate closely with our partners in South America to address our shared challenge of drug production, trafficking and consumption,” said ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta. it’s a statement.

Despite the achievements indicated in the report, Colombia is the country with the most cultivated hectares of the territories evaluated by the White House.

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