COLOMBIA · DRUG POLICY
Key Facts
- The ruling A regional court kept aerial coca spraying suspended in Putumayo for up to four months on 3 November.
- What is paused A pilot to spray coca fields from the air with the herbicide glufosinate ammonium.
- The numbers Putumayo has 40,565 hectares of coca; only 5,401 were preliminarily flagged for the pilot.
- Why it matters Washington has long pushed spraying to cut cocaine supply, and the pause delays Colombia’s plan.
- Next step Plaintiffs must seek a final judicial decision within the four months.
- Power Index Colombia ranks 6th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 51.9 points (October 2026 edition).
A Colombian court kept aerial coca spraying suspended in the southern department of Putumayo for up to four months on Tuesday, 3 November. The ruling delays a pilot that President Abelardo de la Espriella’s government wanted to use against cocaine crops.
Washington has long pushed Colombia to spray coca from the air to cut cocaine supply. The court cited scientific doubts about the herbicide and the lack of a prior health opinion.
What the Court Decided
The Administrative Tribunal of Putumayo, a regional court, ruled on appeal on 3 November. It kept a pilot project of aerial spraying with glufosinate ammonium provisionally suspended, but for four months at most.
The pilot rests on Resolution 0007 of 2026 from the National Drug Council, the government body that sets anti-drug policy. The order is aimed at that council, the Justice and Defense ministries, and the national police anti-narcotics directorate.
The ruling changes a 22 September decision by a lower court in Mocoa, Putumayo’s capital. That court had ordered the spraying suspended until authorities proved they met technical, scientific, environmental and community-participation rules.
The Tribunal said the lower court went beyond its powers by imposing many conditions with no way to check them and no time limit. The four-month limit now gives the plaintiffs a deadline to seek a final decision in court.
Why Coca Spraying Is Paused in Putumayo
The Tribunal pointed to scientific uncertainty about spraying glufosinate from the air where wildlife, water sources and rural, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities coexist. It said a lack of scientific certainty cannot justify ignoring identified risks, a rule known as the precautionary principle.
The National Health Institute, Colombia’s public health agency, said on 2 October that it had not issued a prior health opinion on the project. The court said this alone does not prove harm but leaves scientific questions open.
Putumayo has 40,565 hectares (about 100,000 acres) of coca, and only 5,401 hectares, about 13%, were preliminarily flagged as possible pilot areas. The court said steps such as marking out areas and excluding protected zones did not fully remove the doubts.
In Plain English, Who Is Who
Glufosinate ammonium is a herbicide that kills most green plants it touches, and Colombia wanted to test it on coca. Coca is the plant whose leaves are made into cocaine.
A tutela is a fast constitutional rights lawsuit that any person can file in Colombia. The Administrative Tribunal is a regional court that hears appeals from lower administrative judges.
A Pilot That Keeps Hitting Courts
Colombia stopped spraying coca with glyphosate from the air in 2015, after the World Health Organization’s cancer agency classified that herbicide as probably carcinogenic. A 2017 Constitutional Court ruling set strict conditions for any restart.
De la Espriella took office on 7 August, and aerial eradication is a visible part of his security plan. The Justice Ministry and the national legal defense agency appealed the earlier suspension.
Justice Minister Iván Cancino has said there is no pilot if compliance with the Constitutional Court’s requirements is not shown. Our earlier reports covered the first court order and the government’s lifting of the glyphosate ban.
What It Means for You
Any delay in Colombian coca control matters to US drug policy, because Colombia supplies much of the cocaine sold in the United States. A slower restart of spraying also shows how far courts can slow a government’s security agenda.
Investors and aid watchers should treat the ruling as a sign that legal risk shadows Colombia’s anti-drug plans. Our report on Colombia’s coca crop and shifting cocaine routes gives the wider picture.
What Is Not Known
The plaintiffs who filed the original lawsuits have not been named publicly, and the government has not announced its response. It is also unclear whether it will appeal or comply.
It is unclear what happens after four months if no final decision arrives. The court gave no date for any new spraying.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is aerial coca spraying banned in Colombia?
A regional court has kept the glufosinate pilot suspended in Putumayo for up to four months. Colombia has not sprayed coca from the air since 2015.
Why did the court keep spraying suspended?
It cited scientific uncertainty about glufosinate, the missing prior opinion from the National Health Institute, and the precautionary principle. It said these doubts were not fully cleared.
What is glufosinate ammonium?
It is a herbicide that kills most green plants it touches. The government planned a pilot spraying it on coca in Putumayo.
What happens next?
The suspension runs four months at most while the plaintiffs seek a final court decision. The government has not announced whether it will appeal.
Sources: Administrative Tribunal of Putumayo, second-instance ruling, magistrate Marino Coral Argoty, 3 November 2026; National Drug Council of Colombia, Resolution 0007 of 2026, 2026; National Health Institute of Colombia, statement on the pilot, 2 October 2026; Administrative Court No. 2 of Mocoa, first-instance ruling, 22 September 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief