GNV News, October 30, 2024

On October 18, 2024, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced that the amount of cocaine produced in Colombia in 2023 is expected to reach 2,664 tons, a 53% increase from the previous year. Cocaine is a powdered drug made from coca leaves; it produces a brief feeling of euphoria after ingestion but later causes adverse effects known as withdrawal symptoms, and excessive use can be fatal. The background to this surge in cocaine is thought to include an expansion of coca cultivation area, higher yields, and improvements in processing techniques. It has also been noted that domestic and international criminal groups involved in production and trafficking profit greatly from cocaine distribution, so increased production invigorates these organizations and, as a result, fuels violence.

Meanwhile, transit countries for cocaine have seen a series of large seizures since the start of October. In Spain, 13 tons of cocaine disguised in a container used to ship bananas were seized. Mexican authorities also seized 8.3 tons of drugs in the Pacific Ocean. While countries are achieving results in drug enforcement, there are also changes aimed at evading crackdowns, such as the fragmentation of production and transport actors and increasingly complex trafficking routes.

Learn more about drugs and reporting → “Drugs around the world and international reporting“

Learn more about the Americas and drugs→ “North and South America: Drug networks covering the continent“

Coca leaves, the raw material for cocaine (Photo: Danna Guevara / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY 4.0])