Colombia to review illicit coca crops disparity with UN, US

Bogota, Jun 25 (EFE).- Colombia said Friday it would review with the United Nations and the United States the disparity in the figures both handle on illicit crops in the country and that show “the fight against drugs” remains a huge challenge.”

This was reported by President Ivan Duque’s government after the US’ Office of National Drug Control Policy said Friday that in 2020 crops grew to add an area of ??245,000 hectares, an increase of more than 15 percent compared to 2019, when there was already a record of 212,000 hectares.

This figure contrasts with that of the annual report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime presented on Jun. 9 in Bogota, which said Colombia coca crops were reduced in 2020 to 143,000 hectares, 7 percent less than the area planted in 2019.

“Given this disparity in the ONDCP and UNODC figures, technicians from both countries and the United Nations will review them to identify those methodological criteria necessary to harmonize for the next measurement cycle,” the Colombian government said in a statement. .

Likewise, the executive said the governments of both countries reaffirmed Wednesday their commitment to the fight against drugs and reiterated that complex problems such as drug trafficking “are a shared responsibility that requires long-term solutions and a comprehensive policy response.”

“We now have an opportunity to redouble our efforts toward our common goal of ending this destructive illicit economy. Colombia and the United States recognize that complex problems such as drug trafficking require long-term solutions and a comprehensive policy response,” the government said Friday. EFE

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