Belgium allocates 500,000 euros to UN drug agency in Colombia
Belgium is allocating half a million euros to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to bolster efforts to combat drug trafficking in South America, announced Foreign minister Maxime Prévot on Monday during his visit to Colombia.
During the visit, the Belgian delegation visited a farm that receives UN support to switch from coca to coffee cultivation. The farm is part of a cooperative that encourages farmers to replace coca cultivation with legal crops such as coffee, cocoa, avocados and honey. Prévot described the project as "positive" and worthy of support.
"This is the most sustainable way to tackle the cocaine trade"
"This is the most sustainable way to tackle the cocaine trade," said Amado Philip de Andrés, the UNODC's regional representative. In the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, where the farm is located, there are no longer any coca fields, whereas 20 years ago there were 1,300 hectares of them.
10 tonnes seized
However, drug trafficking continues to flourish at the national level. During a visit to the port of Santa Marta on Colombia's Caribbean coast, Prévot denounced "the extraordinary ingenuity of the cocaine dealers".
Colombia remains the world's largest producer of cocaine, around 70 per cent of which ends up in Europe, including via the port of Antwerp.
In Santa Marta, port authorities intercept several tonnes of cocaine every year, increasingly mixed with other substances. Since the beginning of this year, 10 tonnes have already been seized; 14 of the 22 shipments were destined for Antwerp.
Drugs loaded at sea
Despite all shipments being scanned, illegal shipments continue to be intercepted. Since the start of the year, two tonnes of cocaine from Santa Marta have been seized in Antwerp. One hypothesis is that the drugs are loaded during or after inspection, or even at sea.
A Belgian police liaison officer has been working in Bogotá for the past two years to strengthen information exchange with Colombian services, particularly at ports. The officer says that the local authorities warn the Belgians daily about suspicious shipments.
Santa Marta was the first stop on a South American mission attended by Prévot and several MPs. The Belgian delegation will travel on to Mexico on Wednesday morning, local time.
© JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP
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