Editing Coca eradication (section)

==Results==
At the start of 2003, there were 1,740&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of coca in worldwide cultivation, and Colombia represented more than 60% of that total. Critics of the Colombian eradication program had predicted that it would lead to higher coca production in Peru and Bolivia. However, in November 2003, the US [[Office of National Drug Control Policy]] (ONDCP) claimed the area planted with coca in Peru and Bolivia combined fell by 35&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in the year up to June, which would suggest that the crop eradication program in neighboring Colombia had not driven production over the borders. According to ONDCP estimates, the area cultivated with coca in Bolivia rose from 244&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in 2002 to 284.5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in June 2003, but this increase was more than offset in Peru, where the area fell from 366&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> to 311.5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

The U.S. figures were very different from preliminary estimates in September 2003 by the head of the [[UN Office on Drugs and Crime]] in Colombia, which indicated that output in Peru and Bolivia may have risen by as much 21%, or 150&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> that year. The White House office said its estimate was based on sampling from high resolution satellite imagery. The United Nations used a different technique and had not yet put out any formal estimate for 2003.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

A March 2005 report by the [[ONDCP]] indicated that despite record aerial spraying of over 1,300&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of coca in Colombia in 2004, the total area under coca cultivation remained "statistically unchanged" at 1,140&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. In response to the report, the [[Washington Office on Latin America]] (WOLA), an [[non-governmental organization|NGO]] that monitors the impact of US foreign policy in Latin America, observed that the aerial spraying strategy appeared to have hit its limits. According to WOLA, the new ONDCP data suggested a continued "balloon effect" as aggressive spraying in some areas has not deterred new cultivation elsewhere. The WOLA Senior Associate for Drug Policy commented, "The stable cultivation in 2004 throws into doubt US officials’ predictions of a major impact on US drug prices and purity." Regardless, Colombian President [[Álvaro Uribe]] vowed to press ahead with the U.S.-financed fumigation of coca crops.<ref name=wola310303>[http://www.wola.org/drug_policy/press_release_coca_cultivation_2004.htm Aerial Spraying Fails to Reduce Coca Cultivation in Colombia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406013944/http://www.wola.org/drug_policy/press_release_coca_cultivation_2004.htm |date=2005-04-06 }}, WOLA, March 31, 2003</ref>

Official estimates of coca cultivation in Peru for 2005 have yet to be released, but the State Department's own reporting suggests that cultivation in Peru has increased.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In Bolivia, there has been a decrease in clashes since 2004, when [[Evo Morales]] and former President [[Carlos Mesa]] struck a deal allowing the Chapare region to legally grow a limited amount of coca, in addition to the already legal [[Yungas]] region.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In 2006 the Colombian government destroyed around 730 square kilometres, reaching new records in coca plant destruction. The Colombian government planned to destroy around 500&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of coca plants in 2007, which would leave only around 200&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> left. The Colombian government planned to destroy the remaining coca gradually over the following years.<ref name=sne>{{in lang|es}} [http://www.presidencia.gov.co/prensa_new/sne/2007/enero/03/17032007.htm Erradicán manualment 50 mil hectáreas de coca en 2007], Presidencia de Colombia press release, January 3, 2007</ref>