The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that the area under coca cultivation in Colombia increased by 43 percent over the year and reached 204,000 hectares in 2021.

Cultivation of the plant from which cocaine is made threatens the biodiversity of this country.

This was announced on Thursday, October 20, by the UN agency in its annual report.

Potential cocaine production also hit a record last year at 1,400 tonnes, up 14% from 2020.

"This is the highest indicator in 22 years of our monitoring," UNODC regional director Candice Welsh told reporters.

She called on Bogotá to improve the security of communities transitioning to legal cultures and increase social spending.

Colombia has long been the world's largest producer of cocaine, a highly addictive drug that is illegal in most countries.

The country faced pressure, particularly from the United States, to end production.

We will remind, the court recently imposed a preventive measure on the supplier of cocaine for the Ukrainian elite.

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