Land devoted to the cultivation of coca leaves in Peru increased by 18 percent between 2021 and 2022, with some 95,000 hectares (367 square miles) now being used to grow the raw ingredient for cocaine, the government’s anti-drug authorities have said.Though the cultivation of coca is legal for traditional purposes such as being chewed for energy or administered as an antidote for altitude sickness in the Andean nation, analysts and government officials estimate that some 90 percent of Peru’s crop is now used in the illicit drug trade.Based on data from 20 monitored areas, Peru’s national anti-drugs commission DEVIDA said on Monday that coca cultivation was at a record high in 2022 compared with the previous two decades, according to analysts.
Load More
Load More