The United States presented to Congress a presidential determination in which it identifies 22 countries, including Colombia, as important producers or traffic points of illicit drugs. Among the other countries is Afghanistan, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and China.
Additionally, the White House clarified that the inclusion in this list responds to geographical, commercial and economic factors that facilitate drug trafficking, even if some governments apply rigorous controls.
This document emphasizes the fentanyl crisis, in which it has been declared as a national emergency that has caused more than 200 daily death the previous year. According to President Gustavo Petro, borders have been reinforced thus reducing for the first time in more than a decade death due to overdose.
In addition, the United States government, He assured that Colombia’s breach of his obligations in drug control during the last year, is due exclusively to his political leadership.
In addition, the president said that the US administration said that the country reached historical records in coca and cocaine production. Through this document, breach is due to political leadership and not to the country’s security institutions.
After this, Washington DC left open the possibility of reviewing this designation if Colombia adopts more aggressive measures against drug trafficking.
The latent risk of a certification lifting was given after the United States Department of State published at the beginning of the year its international narcotics control strategy 2025, in which he pointed out that Colombia continues as the main producer and exporter of Coca.
Given this, Javier Diaz, president of Analdex, said that, “the descertification in the fight against drugs points out that the Colombian government did not meet the expected goals,” he said through the social network X.
According to the document, there was a 10% increase in coca crops in 2023, reaching 253,000 hectares, the potential drug production rose 53%, from 1,738 to 2,664 metric tons.
