Foreign Affairs

Colombian Industrial Coke Production Outpacing Government Efforts

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Colombian Defense Minister Luis Villegas spoke publicly Thursday about the country’s increase in coca leaf production (a main component of cocaine), noting costs of production have gone down and profit margins have gone up, according to Colombia Reports.

Villegas said the increase in profit margins was in part because of “the devaluation of the [Colombian] peso against currencies like the dollar or the euro,” according to Colombia Reports. It is now an easier and quicker process for drug traffickers to take coca leaf and convert it to hydrochloride — a main ingredient of cocaine — according to the defense minister.

Drug traffickers in Colombia are clearly outmaneuvering the government.”So far in 2016 we have destroyed 52% more drug labs than in the same period of 2015,” Villegas said. Government officials are optimistic that drug cultivation will be reduced if a deal with Marxist rebel group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), is reached later this month.

Despite the possibility of reaching a deal with FARC leadership, there are other non-state actors in Colombia that are large forces to contend with. Rival Marxist rebel group the Army of National Liberation (ELN) has not been disarmed, and neither has the drug trafficking group known as Urabeños.

At best, there will only be a partial peace and a partial reduction in drug cultivation if a deal is reached with FARC rebels. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos publicly expressed doubts Wednesday about a deal being reached by March 23. He stated that an extension may be necessary if a worthwhile deal cannot be reached in a timely manner, according to Colombia Reports.

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