Colombia’s Potential Cocaine Production Surges to a Record High

Colombia has once again produced cocaine at a record pace as President Gustavo Petro’s government changed the country’s strategy for fighting illegal drugs.

The area of land planted with coca leaf — the raw material for cocaine — rose 10% last year, to 253,000 hectares, according to a report published Friday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. This area has the potential to produce 2,664 tons of cocaine, a 53% rise from the previous year.

Bags of coca paste in La Paz, Guaviare department, Colombia

Photographer: Ivan Valencia/Bloomberg

Candice Welsch, the UNODC representative for the Andean region and the Southern Cone, said during the report’s presentation in Bogota ...