Bogotá (AFP) - Peasants feel "fear" in the jungle area of Colombia where the national government intends to carry out aerial spraying with a questioned herbicide on crops destined for drug production, the regional governor said this Thursday.
First modification: 02/10/2026 - 17:46
President Abelardo de la Espriella promotes a tough policy to combat drug trafficking in Colombia, the largest cocaine producing country in the world.
A judge ordered last month to temporarily suspend the pilot plan for aerial application of herbicides on drug crops in the Amazon region of Putumayo (southern), but the right-wing president challenged the measure and assured that "the fumigation is going."
The announcement "has generated anxiety and fear among the population, especially among farmers" due to its "effects on health in the past," Governor John Molina declared to Caracol Radio.
"Many pregnant mothers lost their children, (we suffered) contamination of water sources, fauna, flora and legal crops," he said.
The herbicide planned to be used is glufosinate ammonium, considered moderately dangerous to health by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In 2015, Colombia suspended aerial spraying with glyphosate, another chemical questioned for its effects on health and ecosystems.
In the Putumayo region, bordering Ecuador, illegal armed groups operate that finance themselves with drug trafficking and illegal mining.
According to the governor, in the area there are more than 40,000 hectares of coca leaf crops, the base of cocaine, and some 22,000 families depend on the income generated by these plantations.
The farmers "have the will to manually eradicate" illicit crops in exchange for "government investment," said Molina, who is in talks with the government about alternatives to fumigation.
Manual eradication involves hours of work by residents, often exposed to attacks by armed groups.
De la Espriella has declared war on the drug trafficking mafias in Colombia, a policy supported by the United States, the destination of much of the drugs.
© 2026 AFP
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