Colombia launches a limited aerial fumigation pilot against coca using glufosinate ammonium

# What happened Colombia's National Narcotics Council authorized a short, experimental aerial fumigation program to eradicate coca. The pilot is scheduled as a one-week test in undisclosed locations and is described as "controlled, limited, temporary and evaluable." The authorization sets a maximum cumulative coverage of 1,000 hectares and excludes the herbicide glyphosate.

# Why the government is doing this President Abelardo de la Espriella campaigned on hard-line measures against organized crime and drug trafficking and moved quickly after taking office. He repealed a prior prohibition on glyphosate and publicly promised alternatives to glyphosate during the campaign. The government frames the pilot as part of efforts to curtail cocaine production, following UN estimates that Colombia accounted for about 253,000 hectares of coca in 2023 — roughly 67% of global cultivation that year.

# What the pilot will use instead of glyphosate The resolution bars glyphosate and instead specifies glufosinate ammonium for the aerial test. The article cites a comparison of WHO hazard ratings that was included in reporting: glufosinate ammonium is described as "moderately dangerous," while glyphosate was given a different descriptor in that reporting. The government says it intends to use herbicides it characterizes as safer than past methods.

# Limits and protections in the resolution The authorization includes explicit prohibitions and safeguards: the fumigation cannot take place in sensitive areas such as Afro-descendent communities, parks, wetlands and population centers. The stated objective is to obtain verifiable scientific evidence on effectiveness, precision, drift, and risks to health and the environment, and to assess whether management measures are sufficient.

# Context: prior policies and competing approaches

# Political and diplomatic backdrop The pilot was revealed soon after a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Reporting indicates the new Colombian government and the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump are aligned on taking tougher measures against narcotics trafficking. Colombian media widely speculated Putumayo could be the pilot site, though the government did not confirm locations.

# Legal and evidentiary hurdles Colombia's constitutional court has imposed strict conditions for widescale aerial fumigation, including the need for the government to prove safety. The resolution explicitly frames the pilot as a fact-finding, evaluable phase to collect scientific evidence on health and environmental impacts before any expansion.

# What to watch next

• Whether the government announces the pilot's exact location and precise start date. Reports suggested the test could begin later this month in Putumayo.
• The scientific evidence the trial produces on drift, precision and local impacts and whether those findings meet constitutional court standards.

# Bottom line The government has launched a narrowly defined, short-term aerial fumigation experiment using glufosinate ammonium rather than glyphosate, with legal safeguards and a stated goal of producing verifiable scientific evidence. The outcome of this pilot will influence whether Colombia resumes broader aerial eradication after more than a decade without widescale spraying.