"The world's largest producer and exporter of cocaine doesn't know its own production. The figure exists, but no one can vouch for its accuracy. After nearly 20 years using the same methodology, Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced its inaccuracy and decided not to release the numbers. The cocaine production figure, which has continued to rise, became a state secret. Four dubious digits that summarize a huge problem: Colombia lacks a reliable method for measuring one of the world's most profitable illegal businesses."
"The figure represents a 12.6% increase from the previous year a rate that has been slowing down, as the UN report admits but its political implications are lethal. It is yet another bullet in the war that U.S. President Donald Trump is waging against Colombia's first leftist president, using drug trafficking as a pretext. In his anti-drug crusade which he has used to justify strikes against alleged drug-running boats that have killed 83 people so far in the Caribbean and the Pacific"
Colombia's official cocaine production figure was withheld after President Gustavo Petro denounced the long-standing measurement methodology as inaccurate. EL PAIS revealed a leaked estimate of 3,001 tons potentially produced in 2024. The estimate represents a 12.6% rise from the prior year, with the UN noting a slowing growth rate. Measurement weaknesses leave Colombia without a reliable method to quantify the illegal cocaine industry, complicating evaluation of anti-drug policies. The figure has intensified diplomatic tensions with the United States, where leadership has accused Petro of tolerating or leading drug trafficking and has authorized strikes and sanctions amid escalating rhetoric.
Read at english.elpais.com
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