Colombia has removed one of the biggest legal barriers preventing the return of aerial spraying of coca crops, potentially reviving one of the country’s most controversial strategies in its decades-long fight against cocaine production.

Colombia’s National Narcotics Council has repealed the 2015 resolution that suspended aerial spraying using glyphosate, the herbicide historically used to destroy coca plantations from aircraft.

The decision does not mean planes will immediately begin spraying coca fields again.

However, it clears an important legal obstacle that has been in place for more than a decade.

Why Colombia Stopped Aerial Spraying

Colombia suspended the practice in 2015 following health and environmental concerns surrounding glyphosate.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” that year.

Aerial fumigation had previously been a major component of Colombia’s U.S.-backed war against cocaine production.

For years, aircraft sprayed coca-growing regions in an attempt to destroy the plant used to produce cocaine.

The program was also deeply controversial.

Farmers and environmental groups argued that spraying could damage legal crops, affect rural communities and harm surrounding ecosystems.

Colombia Is Facing Enormous Coca Production

The policy change comes as Colombia continues struggling with historically high levels of coca cultivation.

According to United Nations figures, Colombia had approximately 261,000 hectares of coca crops at the end of 2024.

The scale of production has increased pressure on Colombian authorities to find more aggressive ways of reducing coca cultivation and cocaine production.

Supporters of aerial eradication argue that spraying allows authorities to destroy coca plantations much faster than manual eradication, particularly in remote areas controlled by armed groups.

Critics argue that destroying the plants does little to address the poverty and lack of economic opportunities that encourage rural farmers to grow coca in the first place.

The Planes Aren’t Flying Yet

Despite the government’s decision, aerial spraying cannot simply restart immediately.

Colombia still has to satisfy environmental and health requirements along with consultation obligations established through previous court decisions.

That distinction is important: Colombia has opened the door to aerial fumigation, but it has not yet authorized a new nationwide spraying campaign.

If those remaining requirements are eventually met, Colombia could see the return of a drug-war strategy that defined much of the Plan Colombia era.

More than a decade after the planes were grounded, the debate over spraying Colombia’s coca fields with glyphosate may be starting all over again.