Petro’s cocaine explosion is now tainting water in Colombia’s major cities

The deliberate decision by Gustavo Petro’s government not to combat cocaine production in Colombia is exposing millions of Colombians to what researchers describe as a “slow and gradual poisoning.” That is the troubling conclusion of a study conducted by the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS), which characterizes the situation as a “public-health crisis.”

The study found traces of cocaine and chemicals associated with its production in drinking water systems across Colombia, including in major cities such as Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, and Medellín. Drug production in Colombia, which has reached historic levels under Gustavo Petro’s administration, appears to be leaving a measurable chemical footprint that extends far beyond laboratories in coca-growing regions and trafficking corridors.

The research explains that each kilogram of cocaine generates a toxic chemical burden of roughly 300 liters of liquid waste, including gasoline, sulfuric acid, ammonia, methanol, and other substances. In addition, the production process can generate nearly 300 kilograms of solid waste, including macerated coca leaves, cocaine residues, cement, lime, and other materials used during cocaine processing.

Based on data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), cocaine production in Colombia was estimated at 2,664 metric tons in 2023. According to SFS, that level of production may have generated approximately 799.2 million liters of liquid chemical waste and 799,200 metric tons of solid waste in a single year—an alarming volume of contamination.

SFS strongly condemns the actions of Gustavo Petro’s government, arguing that the risks Colombians face from contamination linked to the unprecedented expansion of coca cultivation should not be treated as a conventional environmental issue. Instead, the organization describes it as the result of a profound national security failure. According to the report, the Petro administration’s approach to narcotrafficking has allowed cocaine production to expand so aggressively that contamination has reached the water consumed by millions of Colombians living far from the areas where coca is cultivated and cocaine is produced.

As a result, the solution should not focus primarily on technical water-treatment measures, but rather on a state policy capable of effectively reducing cocaine production and confronting the narcotrafficking problem. Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine producer. In 2023, UNODC estimated the country’s potential cocaine production at 2,664 metric tons, a 53 percent increase compared with 2022. A 2024 estimate, while still subject to debate, places potential production at 3,001 metric tons. If confirmed, that would represent a 72.7 percent increase during Petro’s first two years in office.

These figures make clear that criminal groups in Colombia have significantly expanded their large-scale cocaine production capacity. For that reason, SFS argues that Petro’s government has created favorable conditions for the expansion of organized crime. SFS further contends that while officials have repeatedly celebrated what they describe as “record cocaine seizures,” those seizures have failed to offset the dramatic increase in drug production capacity seen in recent years.

The Double Discourse of the Petro Government and Its Allies

Although after the meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., Gustavo Petro’s rhetoric on drug trafficking appeared to slightly shift in the eyes of the media, the reality is that the country is currently flooded with cocaine. This troubling situation is not surprising to those who have followed Petro’s political career, as for years he has argued that the “war on drugs” makes no sense and has also been supported, at times implicitly and at others openly, by narcoterrorist groups such as the FARC and the ELN guerrillas.

Colombia is also currently going through a key moment for its future, as the country is in an election period. Iván Cepeda, one of Gustavo Petro’s closest allies and a senator in his party, the “Pacto Histórico” coalition, the left-wing bloc that brought Petro to the presidency in 2022, finished second in the first round held on May 31. Cepeda now has a chance to become the next president of Colombia.

When the country is experiencing such high levels of cocaine production that its chemical footprint is reaching the water supply of millions of Colombians, even in major cities, the continuation of a permissive agenda toward drug trafficking groups represents not only a security threat but also a public health concern. Cepeda represents far-left positions that in many cases are difficult to distinguish from the political stances of narcoterrorist groups such as the ELN and the FARC, and under his potential government it is easy to foresee that criminal drug trafficking groups could be further strengthened.

The presidential candidate has strongly defended the FARC as a political group, and as a senator he has promoted policies that have benefited narcoterrorist organizations and created the conditions for Colombia to hold the unfortunate position of the world’s leading cocaine producer. In the current presidential campaign, the FARC have expressed their support for Iván Cepeda, as well as former guerrilla commander Rodrigo Londoño, known as “Timochenko.” There have also been reports of pressure from FARC armed groups in favor of his candidacy.

Another important issue to highlight is the double discourse regarding the environment. Gustavo Petro and Iván Cepeda’s party has made environmental causes one of its main political flags; however, the environmental damage resulting from their policies is large-scale and difficult to reverse. The 799.2 million liters of liquid chemical waste and 799,200 metric tons of solid waste in a single year, documented by the SFS study, should be a major concern for anyone who genuinely cares about the environment and the health of Colombians.

The study also notes that the chain of chemical products used in industrial-scale cocaine production does not originate in isolation within Colombia but is transnational. The analysis indicates that many inputs are linked to chemical supply chains connected to China and move through regional routes involving Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, and other intermediaries.

SFS classifies the situation as a “public health crisis” caused by a failure in national security. The SFS analysis draws on a study by the University of La Sabana which, between late 2025 and early 2026, collected and analyzed water samples in major urban centers across the country (Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cartagena, and Cúcuta), as well as in seven additional municipalities. The population covered by the study reaches 17 million people, equivalent to 32% of Colombia’s population.

The study published by SFS reveals another angle that should concern Colombians, particularly given the possibility that an even more extreme candidate, Iván Cepeda, could continue Petro’s government agenda for another four years. Decisions regarding narcoterrorist groups are affecting Colombians’ health in ways that are only beginning to come to light. The SFS conclusion that the Petro government’s deliberate decision not to combat cocaine trafficking is exposing all Colombians to a “slow and gradual poisoning” adds to a long list of serious consequences that drug trafficking has brought to the country.