The Colombian government announced Tuesday, August 3, that 116 tons of cocaine had been seized in a month and a half of joint military operations with countries in America and Europe.
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The coordinated and multilateral fight embodied by Operation Orion, in its seventh phase, results from the ability of all countries to understand that together we can be more effective in the fight against drug trafficking,
" said the President. Iván Duque from the presidential palace. The 116 tonnes of cocaine were seized between May 15 and June 30 as part of military operations in the air, land and in Caribbean, Pacific and Atlantic waters.
The world's leading producer of cocaine, Colombia has coordinated various actions with 38 other American and European countries as part of Operation Orion, carried out in successive periods since 2018. The government also indicated that 539 people of different nationalities had been arrested, and 69 boats, three semi-submersibles and five planes seized.
The operation involved agents of the security forces of Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, United States, Spain, France, The Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay and Peru in particular.
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Colombia is the country where the most coca leaves are grown in the world, with 143,000 hectares planted in 2020 and a production potential of 1,228 tons of cocaine, according to the United Nations. According to the government, authorities seized more than 500 tonnes of cocaine last year and destroyed 130,000 hectares of coca plantations. The United States is the largest consumer of drugs produced by Colombia.