Colombia: Using New Coca Policies to Advance Peace Talks

Following a decision by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's National Narcotics Commission will recommend an end to the aerial spraying of glyphosate on May 14, marking the end of an era in the country's counternarcotics strategy. Glyphosate is an herbicide found in products widely used in the agricultural sector to kill weeds. Since the 1980s, Colombia has used these products against coca, spraying coca fields from aircraft to combat drug production and the insurgent groups that rely on them for revenue. Today, however, coca production and militant activity are in decline, giving Santos an opportunity to change this strategy.

A complete halt in aerial spraying will take time. Once the process is complete, Colombia's anti-coca efforts will rely more on slower manual eradication techniques, possibly leading to increased production of coca and thus cocaine. But for Santos, this may be worthwhile. His primary goal over the next year is to secure a lasting peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC. Ending the drug trade is secondary to this goal and, ultimately, is out of Colombia's hands. Santos' end to aerial spraying could lead to an uptick in Colombian drug production, but Bogota is willing to trade a short-term risk for long-term stability.