Colombia must restart aerial fumigation to fight drug trafficking, defense minister says

Colombian Minister of Defense Carlos Holmes Trujillo speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia November 27, 2020. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia must restart aerial fumigation of coca with the herbicide glyphosate as soon as possible to reduce cocaine production, income for illegal armed groups, massacres and the killings of human rights activists, the defense minister said.

The Andean country, a top producer of cocaine, suspended aerial fumigation with glyphosate in 2015 on concerns by the World Health Organization (WHO) it may cause cancer.