Petro says his government will not carry out forced eradication of coca crops again.

Bogotá,.- The Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, stated this Wednesday that his Government will not carry out forced eradication of coca crops again, as he says Washington asks him to, because that policy "kills police officers" in his country. "There were no deaths in 2023, there were no deaths in 2024 and unfortunately (we have) 13 deaths in 2025 due to acceding to the request to begin forced eradication, which is a mistake and I will not do it again," Petro expressed in an address regarding the U.S. decision to exclude the Andean nation from the group of countries that complied in the last 12 months with the fight against drug trafficking.

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The uniformed personnel Petro refers to are 13 police officers who died last August in an attack on an anti-narcotics helicopter in a rural area of the municipality of Amalfi, in the department of Antioquia (northwest). The attack, which the government blamed on FARC dissidents and which was later claimed by the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, occurred while the aircraft was carrying out coca crop eradication work in Amalfi. "Forced eradication kills police in Colombia," Petro added.

Advocating for Voluntary Eradication

Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine and, according to the latest annual report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), concentrates 253,000 of the 376,000 hectares of coca crops in the world, that is, two-thirds. In its annual report, the U.S. Department of State noted that "in Colombia, coca cultivation and cocaine production have increased to record levels during the government of President Gustavo Petro, and his failed attempts to reach agreements with narcoterrorist groups have only exacerbated the crisis." The country had not received the so-called 'decertification' for lack of results against drugs since 1997, during the Government of Ernesto Samper, who was accused of receiving illicit money from drug trafficking for the campaign that led him to the Presidency. Faced with this decision, Petro insisted on defending the voluntary eradication of coca crops, which in his opinion is more effective than forced eradication. "Forced eradication versus voluntary eradication, which is what I do, generates far fewer deaths in the Military Forces and the Police," expressed the Colombian president. Petro added: "I am going to demonstrate to Colombia, because I have to demonstrate to them, but to you Mr. (Donald) Trump, that voluntary eradication is much more effective for eradicating coca leaf crops than forced eradication, which you want to force us to do and which only leaves blood and poison in Colombia." He also said that the U.S. drug policy "failed" and that "that war was defeated by the mafia and drug trafficking."