The government of President Abelardo De la Espriella has annulled the resolution that halted the aerial spraying of illicit crop fields with glyphosate. The decision, published this Thursday in the official gazette, is the first step to resume aerial spraying of the 330,000 hectares of coca that the Executive estimates exist in Colombia. The decision, signed by the new Deputy Minister of Criminal Policy of the Ministry of Justice, Carlos Gónima Díaz-Granados, paves the way to fulfill one of De la Espriella’s main campaign promises. “We have to start spraying the primary source of all forms of violence, which are the 330,000 hectares of coca, without violating the Constitutional Court’s decision,” he said in an interview with El Tiempo days before taking office.
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The far-right leader was referring to the limits and requirements imposed by jurisprudence for the use of glyphosate, due to the proven effects on human health and nature caused by its aerial spraying. For this reason, De la Espriella has promised to seek other substances for spraying. “We will not do it with glyphosate, we will do it with bioherbicides (…) we will be respectful of everything, of the legal framework,” he insisted in the interview.
This Thursday’s decision opens the possibility for the return of aerial spraying with glyphosate or any other substance, but it does not imply the automatic resumption of such spraying. In fact, the second article of the resolution published this Thursday explicitly clarifies that the repeal “does not authorize the execution of any aerial spraying activity from a manned aircraft.”
It also clarifies that the resumption remains subject to compliance with the five conditions established by the Court: that the National Environmental Licensing Authority or ANLA issues an environmental management plan for aerial spraying; that prior consultation is held with the communities living in the territory to be sprayed, when applicable; that the National Institute of Health issues a favorable technical opinion on the matter; that ANLA lifts a preventive measure imposed in 2015; and, for each intervention, the presentation and approval of specific environmental management plans.
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Article five of the repeal urges the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health to include in the scientific review of glyphosate’s effects on public health the most recent evaluation by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in the Monsanto Co. v. Durnell case. This ruling, sponsored by the Donald Trump government, exempts the multinational owner of glyphosate from liability in a famous cancer case. In fact, President Trump issued an executive order months ago to boost national glyphosate production. This article could open the door for officials of the new Executive to reverse previous decisions that show how glyphosate affects citizens’ health.
The repeal of the resolution implies the beginning of a new paradigm in the fight against drugs, which will prioritize forced eradication of crops over agreements with communities and voluntary eradication, which the Gustavo Petro government insisted on.
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