Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Business is still booming in the land of Escobar
COLOMBIA remains the undisputed cocaine capital of the world.
The trade, exploited for decades by ruthless druglords like the late Pablo Escobar, has been fictionalised in a string of films and TV series including Netflix hit Narcos.
But the grim reality is production hit record levels in 2017, rocketing by around 31% yearon-year to some 1,400 tonnes – worth $2.7billion (£2billion) in the local market.
The white powder is shipped to countries all over the world including Britain and the US, which is the world’s largest consumer. Colombia, backed annually by around $400million from the US, has fought for years against cocaine farmers.
Schemes have included using drones to spray coca crops with herbicide, which sparked criticism after the World Health Organization warned the chemical could be linked to cancer.
In 2017, the South American nation signed a $300million agreement with the UN to compensate farmers who switched from growing coca to other crops.
But the cocaine trade still thrives despite a peace deal in 2017 that ended five decades of armed conflict with rebel group the FARC.
And it was back in the spotlight last week when Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was found guilty in a New York court of drug trafficking.
El Chapo, who led the Sinaloa Cartel, became the most powerful narcotics boss in the world by shipping cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to the US.
The billionaire, who faces life in prison, has bragged of killing around 3,000 people.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted last month that he was worried by increased coca leaf production in Colombia, adding that the two countries would work together in a bid to halve output by 2023.
He said: “The United States remains deeply concerned about the surge in cocaine production in Colombia since 2013.
“We know we must do our part to reduce demand in our country and we’ll work alongside you here as well.”
Colombian president Ivan Duque, who was elected last August, said more than 80,000 hectares of illicit crops were destroyed in 2018 and the government would target a further 100,000 hectares this year.
But Colombia says more money is needed to persuade farmers to grow less lucrative crops.
US SECRETARY OF STATE