Colombia Produced More Than 70% of World Cocaine in 2017: UN

The Office of the United Nations Organization on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Wednesday in its World Report on Drugs 2019 that more than 70 percent of the world’s cocaine is produced in Colombia. 

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"Driven by a strong rise in Colombia, the world production of cocaine marked a new record in 2017, surpassing by 25 percent the previous one in 2016," the report said. 

The UNODC research chief, Angela Me, said, "Of course this is bad news, it is bad news for the producing countries, what is happening in Colombia is worrisome."

According to the report, between 2013 and 2017, coca crops increased from 46,000 hectares to 171,000 hectares i.e., a 50 percent increase. 

In 2017, the authorities intercepted a record amount of drugs which was, in total, 1,275 tons, 13 percent more than 2016. Around 38 percent of the seized drugs came from Colombia. 

"This suggests that law enforcement efforts have become more effective and that strengthened international cooperation may be helping to increase interception rates," the report said.

Specialists point out that cocaine production in Colombia has increased due to the proliferation of plantations in remote places, and the emergence of new criminal gangs, despite the efforts made to move rural communities away from coca cultivation.

The U.N. also pointed out that the United States is the main consumer of drugs in the world despite the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump had accused Colombian President Ivan Duque of not taking enough measures to stop the drug flow into the North American country.