Colombia’s police will boost efforts to replace coca fields

By MANUEL RUEDA
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s police force says a newspaper misreported that it has suspended operations to forcibly eradicate coca fields as the country’s new leftist government seeks to change its approach to dealing with illegal drugs. A police statement issued Tuesday says manual eradication teams are still operating but adds that officials are stepping up efforts to persuade farmers to voluntarily adopt alternative crops. The Bogota newspaper El Tiempo initially reported that the nation’s new police director said during an interview that eradication operations had been suspended. The paper later reported that  Gen. Henry Sanabria’s communication team explained that Sanabria referred only to aerial fumigation of coca crops, which was suspended in 2015.