When Colombia ended aerial spraying of glyphosate, cultivation of cocaine crop surged

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

After six straight years of declining or steady production, the amount of land under coca cultivation in Colombia began rising in 2014 and jumped 42 percent last year. . .

. . . .

Troops have had to wipe out coca plants manually since last year when President Juan Manuel Santos ended a two-decade-old aerial eradication program over health concerns signaled in a World Health Organization-sponsored report reclassifying the chemical herbicide glyphosate as a carcinogen.

. . . .

With some people warning that Colombia will soon be awash in coca because the manual eradication process moves so slowly, Santos earlier this year decided to bring back pesticides on a more limited . . . basis.

. . .crews will be equipped with hazardous materials suits and motor-powered sprayers worn on their backs, allowing them to spread a glyphosate substitute over longer distances.

But even those committed to the program’s success recognize its limitations and yearn for a return to the days of fumigation.

“Without a doubt the results aren’t going to be sufficient,” Capt. Manuel Perez, a police special forces instructor. . .

Read full, original post: Coca’s Comeback Forces Colombia to Rethink Drug War

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