The National Government took an unexpected turn in its anti-drug policy with the announcement of the reactivation of glyphosate spraying, this time using drone technology to combat illicit crops.

The Minister of Justice, Andrés Idárraga, clarified that this is not a return to massive aerial fumigation from airplanes, but rather a controlled ground technique that seeks to directly hit the areas where illegal armed groups are forcing farmers to plant coca leaves.

According to the official, the pilot plan will start in Cauca between December 26 and 27, once approval is received from the National Environmental License Authority (ANLA).

The operational strategy consists of the use of drones that will fly at a maximum height of 1.5 meters above the plants, a distance so short that, according to the Government, it mitigates the risks to human health and the environment generated by spraying from high altitudes in the past.

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These technological devices have the capacity to cover one hectare of coca in just 30 minutes, including the time necessary to change batteries. The measure has the support of the National Narcotics Council and will be visually supervised by the National Police to guarantee that the chemical falls exclusively on illicit crops.

This change of course responds to the delicate public order situation in departments such as Cauca, Arauca and Catatumbo, where the FARC and ELN dissidents have managed to outnumber the public force and have instrumentalized the civilian population to prevent manual eradication efforts.

Although the use of glyphosate has historically been a topic of intense legal and social dispute in Colombia, the Executive defends this “directed spraying” as a necessary tool given the failure of other methods in high conflict areas.

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