The Colombian government announced that it will deploy the use of drones to reduce record cocaine production on Monday, as the Petro government continues to fall out of favor with the U.S. Trump administration.
The use of drone technology will be the Colombian government's latest method of attempting to slow the rate of record coca production in the South American country, which leads the world in the industry.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that in 2024, 261,000 hectares (about 645,000 acres) were planted with coca crops in Colombia—almost double what was planted in 2016, according to the Associated Press.
Such alarming rates have earned the attention of the administration in Washington, which has accused Colombia—and the Petro government by extension—of “producing a lot of drugs” and selling them into the United States.
The Colombian government's announcement came the same day that President Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, held a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private residence in Palm Beach, announcing the construction of a new fleet of battleships.
During the press briefing, President Trump warned Petro:
“He's gotta watch his ass because he makes cocaine and they send it into the United States of America [from Colombia]. We love the Colombian people. I love the Colombian people. They're great people, smart, energetic, great, but their leader is a troublemaker.”
The warning from the U.S. president came after Petro accused the United States of owning “stolen land” in the U.S. southwest, and recommending that the U.S. government return the land to Latin America.
Ongoing disputes between the Trump administration and the government in Bogotá have intensified in recent months as the United States deploys the largest array of U.S. military assets in the South Caribbean as part of the administration’s efforts to reduce the flow of illicit narcotics and to pressure the Maduro regime to eventually step down from power in Caracas.
The use of drone technology to spray chemicals on the proliferating coca crops in Colombia is a technology now shared by the Colombian government, which has been combating criminal drug organizations and counterinsurgent groups using the technology to conduct covert surveillance on government forces.
Drones have also been used by criminal groups to drop explosive ordnance on enemy forces in the rural highlands of southern and northern Colombia, where large-scale coca plantations and their adjacent production facilities pockmark the territories.
