Despite promises to the U.S., Colombian cocaine production more than doubled last year

(Image credit: Eitan Abramovich/Getty Images)

published 2 July 2015

Although the Colombian government agreed to jump on board with the U.S.-backed efforts to curb cocaine production, Colombian cocaine production more than doubled last year, jumping by as much as 53 percent, a United Nations annual survey reports. Cultivation of the coca leaf, which is used to make cocaine, also increased drastically, now taking up about 266 square miles in the country — a chunk of land that The Associated Press estimates to be about 12 times the size of Manhattan. These increases in production are the largest seen in almost a decade.

Colombia is one of the world's three main cocaine-producing countries, along with Bolivia and Peru. The latest findings revealed in the UN report will likely force Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to step up efforts to curb the production of cocaine to keep his promise of participation in the U.S.-led war on drugs.