Colombia has eradicated 103,100 hectares of coca so far in 2021

The Colombian Defense Minister, Diego Molano, assured this Thursday there are 103,100 hectares of coca eradicated so far in 2021 and that the figure amounts to more than 350,000 hectares in the three years and almost five months of the government of President Iván Duque.

“There are 103,100 hectares eradicated so far, the Government of President Duque has eradicated more than 350,000 hectares and its purpose is to combat the entire chain of drug trafficking”Molano told reporters during a visit to the municipality of San Pablo, in the Caribbean department of Bolívar.

Likewise, the Defense Minister pointed out that 659 tons of cocaine were seized and more than 5,700 laboratories to process the drug were destroyed.

“Those are the blows to the drug trafficking chain, which is what feeds the illegal armed groups that operate in these areas such as this municipality”Molano said in reference to the dissidents of the FARC and the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN).

These results, according to the minister, prevented “more than 1.6 billion doses of cocaine from reaching the US and European markets.”

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“Drug trafficking continues to be the worst threat to Colombia and affects all Colombians. It should continue to be fought because it is the source that feeds groups such as the FARC and ELN dissidents.”, Stressed the minister.

Coca cultivation in Colombia was reduced in 2020 to 143,000 hectares, 7% less than the area planted in 2019, according to the annual report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, in English) presented the last June 9 in Bogotá.

At the end of last October, the United States announced a new strategy to combat drugs in Colombia, which has as its pillars the reduction of production, the development of rural areas and the protection of the environment. (I)