16 hours ago · Colombia, the world's largest producer and exporter of cocaine, has spent decades fighting drug trafficking, but the country's left-wing president claimed the drug was being scapegoated by American politicians, who have waged the war on drugs for decades.

11 hours ago · Colombia is by far the world's biggest cocaine producer, and cultivation of coca leaves — the drug's base ingredient — reached a record high in the country in 2023, the UN Office on Drugs and ...

13 hours ago · Cocaine "is no worse than whiskey" and is only illegal because it comes from Latin America, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose nation is the world's biggest cocaine producer and exporter.

1 day ago · Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said that “cocaine is no worse than whiskey” as the production of coca, the drug’s base ingredient, surges under his presidency.

Stacks of cocaine seized by the Colombian police. The illegal drug trade in Colombia has, since the 1970s, centered successively on four major drug trafficking cartels: Medellín, Cali, Norte del Valle, and North Coast, as well as several bandas criminales, or BACRIMs. [1]

Jul 13, 2024 · Colombia, the global nexus of the cocaine industry, where Pablo Escobar became the world’s best-known criminal, and which still produces more of the drug than any other nation, is facing...

Sep 12, 2023 · Colombia is the top coca cultivator in the world, producing 60% of the world's cocaine, followed by Peru and Bolivia. President Gustavo Petro on Saturday appealed to his regional counterparts...

Oct 18, 2024 · In 2023, Colombia seized 739.5 tons of cocaine, a 12.1% increase from the 659 tons seized in 2022. The government is on track to break another record in 2024, with at least 604 tons of cocaine seized in the first nine months of this year.

Nov 22, 2022 · Drug production boomed in Colombia during the pandemic. The total area harvested for coca leaves – the main ingredient for cocaine – grew 43% in 2021 according to a new annual survey by the...

Oct 18, 2024 · Cultivation of coca bush in Colombia increased by 10 per cent in 2023 to 253,000 hectares, while potential cocaine production reached 2,664 metric tons, according to a new survey released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today.