FILE PHOTO: A deforested area which, according to authorities, is used for coca leaf plantations is seen during an overflight by the Colombian anti-narcotics police in Putumayo, Colombia November 12, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo
BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombian land dedicated to the cultivation of coca leaves, a raw ingredient for cocaine, jumped 10% last year to reach the largest area in over two decades, a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found on Friday.
Some 253,000 hectares were planted with coca leaf in 2023, the report said, up from 230,000 in 2022. That brought last year's potential cocaine production up 53% to 2,644 metric tons, compared with 1,738 metric tons a year earlier.
