Much remains to be done in Colombia’s fight against cultivation of coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Bogota on Monday, APA reports quoting Reuters.
The Andean country has come under repeated pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to curb coca-growing by crime gangs and rebel groups, especially as crop figures shot up in recent years.
This month Colombian President Ivan Duque announced the country eradicated more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of coca last year - a record.
“As a result of aggressive, counter narcotics efforts by President Trump and President Duque, President Duque’s administration has rolled back record high cultivation and cocaine production levels,” Pompeo said.
“Much work remains, we’ll keep the progress going,” added Pompeo, who is visiting to attend a regional counter-terrorism conference in Bogota.