July 26, 2024
At the 11th Colombia-U.S. High Level Dialogue, held in Bogota on May 28-29, 2024, the Republic of Colombia and the United States of America committed to strengthen the measurement of progress on the implementation of the holistic bilateral strategy. This includes metrics on integrated drug supply reduction, economic development, rural security, state presence, and environmental protection.
These metrics are the result of months of joint work to strengthen bilateral actions against the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, within the framework of Working Group 6 on Security, Counternarcotics, and Rural Development, as well as the Counternarcotics Working Group.
This agreement demonstrates our firm intention to advance the transformation of living conditions in areas affected by the illegal drug economy. To that end, traditional metrics aimed at addressing production and supply are complemented by metrics related to state presence, provision of and access to public goods, and access to and titling of land. Metrics aimed at environmental protection are also incorporated, including recovery and restoration of areas affected by coca cultivation, as well as the prosecution of money laundering linked to environmental crimes.
Today, we are pleased to announce the following updated and expanded list of 12 bilaterally agreed metrics to more effectively measure our holistic efforts to combat the production and flow of cocaine and other drugs from Colombia and deepen peace, security, and rural development in Colombia:
Kilograms of cocaine and coca base seized.
Number of HCl and cocaine base labs destroyed.
Number of hectares of coca eradicated.
Number of defendants with indictments for money laundering cases linked to drug trafficking.
Number and value of assets frozen, seized, and forfeited linked to drug trafficking.
Number of Colombian National Police (CNP) personnel per square kilometer permanently assigned to stations in top coca-producing departments: Nariño, Putumayo, Cauca, Norte de Santander, and Antioquia.
Number of Colombian military personnel per square kilometer in top coca-producing departments: Nariño, Putumayo, Cauca, Norte de Santander, and Antioquia.
Number of defendants with indictments for money laundering cases linked to environmental crimes.
Mining equipment seized or destroyed in security operations against illegal gold mining in top coca-producing departments: Nariño, Putumayo, Cauca, Norte de Santander, and Antioquia.
Number of hectares under restoration, recovery, or rehabilitation in areas degraded by coca.
Number of hectares titled or with land use contracts as a result of voluntary substitution and eradication processes.
Value of public funds budgeted for the provision of public goods in priority municipalities: Cáceres (Antioquia) Sardinata (Norte de Santander), Tumaco (Nariño), Santander de Quilichao (Cauca), and Puerto Rico (Meta).
The two governments have reaffirmed their commitment to jointly monitor these metrics and publicly release statistics on a regular basis. In agreeing to these updated metrics, both governments seek to incentivize integrated efforts to reduce cocaine production, promote rural security and development, and dismantle organized criminal networks that perpetuate cycles of violence and poverty and harm the environment through related crimes such as illegal mining.