Colombia Cocaine Output Soars to Clinton-Era Peaks, Defying U.S.
- Land planted with coca in Colombia rose 17% to record in 2017
- Surge in cocaine output undermines Colombian peace process
Members of the Colombian anti-narcotics police, test cocaine from a pack of a one-ton shipment seized in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main port on the Pacific Ocean, on Aug. 10, 2017.
Photographer: Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images
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Colombia’s cocaine production has never been higher, surpassing levels seen before U.S. President Bill Clinton launched the Plan Colombia counter-narcotics program.
The amount of land planted with coca shrubs rose 17 percent to 171,000 hectares last year, enough raw material to produce 1,379 tons of cocaine, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said Wednesday. That’s more than triple the output five years ago.