Bogotá. As a sign of the confidence in the anti-drug strategy implemented by the Colombian Government, the Department of State of the United States approved the release of $ US143 million of funds that will reinforce forced eradication, substitution of illicit plantations, interdiction and interagency operations that seek to attack on each of the links in the drug trafficking chain.
Through an official document, the US government ratified its confidence to Colombia due to the operations undertaken to fight against illicit drug trafficking. It also highlighted three major areas of commitment to the Colombian authorities work. The first is the rural development programs for the reduction of illicit plantations, the second is the commitment to dismantling Organized Armed Groups that profit from drug trafficking and the third is the efficient inter-agency work, particularly conducted by the Armed Forces and the State institutions.
The seven-page document highlights the important progress made in the fight against this transnational crime thanks to the peace agreement signed by the Colombian Government and the Farc group, which has led State institutions to reach the most difficult territories, bringing these populations closer to institutions.
It in the same way, it highlights that in the new anti-drug strategy, sustained operations are carried out through Joint Task Forces, where the knowledge and capabilities of the different Armed Forces are integrated, as well as the establishment of the Strategic Operations Centers (CEOs), in strategic areas (Urabá, San José del Guaviare and (Tumaco) which have led to important operations that have generated historical results against drug trafficking.
It recalled that the United States Department will continue to support anti-drug operations in Colombia for the next five years (until 2023), after the Government's commitment to reduce cocaine and illicit plantation production by 50 percent.
The document, sent last April 4 and signed by Thomas Shannon, Assistant Secretary of State, in the same way, recognizes the historical figures of recent years in the discovery of cocaine hydrochloride (362.4 tons in 2016 and 435.4 in 2017) and the more than 52 thousand hectares of illicit plantations eradicated and verified through the Integrated System of Information and Anti-Narcotics Monitoring (SIIMA).
Source: Ministry of National Defense.
