High in the mountains of Catatumbo in northeast Colombia
the coca leaf is a lifeline for many families in the region. Juan says it's the only crop that provides a steady income
We've been told so many times that we could get benefits if we changed crops
but nothing has arrived for most of us here. That's why we continue to do this. There are lots of empty promises
Dozens of people are working here, among them, a 14-year-old teenager called Gabriel
The coca leaf is the main ingredient for cocaine, and there's at least 50,000 hectares of it in Catatumbo
UN data says that these plants are growing in record numbers across the country
Not far away, the leaves are chopped into pieces, and then they add sulfate, cement and diesel
The paste produces later on taken to a more sophisticated lab. Pedro, not his real name, says he gets around $650 for a kilo of cocaine paste
But he's only left with $140. Do you think we are the drug traffickers
Don't you think we should get help to do something else instead of being killed
If they don't want us to grow the coca, then seriously help us to grow something else
This is the first step in the process of cocaine production. and it's mostly carried out by peasants in the countryside
When President Gustavo Petro came to office, he decided to take a less militarized approach in coca eradication
and decided to promote social development in areas such as this one
But his agenda is facing steep obstacles, including pressure from the United States
Colombia has been a crucial U.S. ally in the region in the fight against drug trafficking
but President Petro has increasingly questioned the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean and close to Venezuela
The United States has accused him of not doing enough to fight against drugs and has threatened to withdraw assistance
Coronel Jesús Alfonso Rojas says Colombia continues to fight drug traffickers in record numbers and that they need U.S. help
We need the technology and capacities which we don't have. Supporting our helicopters special equipment and everything else we use to fight traffickers it is a concern Drug trafficking has been fueling Colombia conflict for decades The United States has spent billions in a fight that most ysts agree has so far failed
Petro is trying a different approach, but for now, much of his programs have failed to reach those who want to start anew
Teresa Bo, Al Jazeera, Catatumbo, Colombia. Tensions have been growing between the U.S. and Colombia, one of Washington's closest Latin American allies
The U.S. says Colombia has failed to stop drug trafficking. The Pentagon has been carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean, claiming they were carrying drugs to the U.S
Last month, Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the U.S. of murder after one of the strikes reportedly killed a fisherman in its territorial waters
In response, President Donald Trump called Petro an illegal drug dealer. Trump has threatened to suspend aid to Colombia
The U.S. provided more than 700 million dollars to the country in 2023
Michael Shifter is adjunct professor of Latin American studies at Georgetown University
He joins us now live from Washington, D.C. Michael, thanks so much for being with us here on Al Jazeera
Let me ask you first, Colombian President Petro vowed to move Colombia away from decades of U.S
back to eradication efforts that failed. Petro wants a new approach, but pressure from Washington is mounting
From your perspective, could Trump's policies and this military buildup have any kind of positive effect
Well, the only positive effect that the buildup has is to focus attention on the drug issue, which I think has been neglected
But clearly what the Trump administration is doing in blowing up small boats that allegedly are carrying drugs in against international law and with no possibility of being effective, obviously, is not is not the answer
Only makes matters worse and deepens tensions with the Colombian government, as well as other governments in Latin America who are very critical of what's going on
So if there were a more constructive approach and a serious willingness to commit resources
to tackle this problem, then one could see some potential benefits. But what we're seeing now is extremely frustrating
And I think there little reason to be optimistic that this is going to make any dent in this spreading problem throughout the region and throughout the world Yeah Michael you talking about deepening tensions
I mean, President Petro accused the U.S. of murder after one of those strikes reportedly killed a fisherman
Trump called Petro an illegal drug leader, a dealer rather. This kind of rhetoric being thrown around, what does that mean for the future of U.S.-Colombian relationships
Well, there's been a very high level of tension and hostility between Trump and Petro, which is not surprising
Both of them are very conflictive and very confrontational in their leadership styles
There's absolutely no basis for what President Trump said about President Petro, about being involved in the drug trade
It's clear that he's presided over record coca cultivation, as was shown in your setup speech
That's true and that his policies have been ineffective. But that's not the same as being involved in the drug trade himself
And there's no evidence of that. And it's extremely reckless, irresponsible for President Trump to say that
And I think President Petro perhaps was unwise to use very aggressive rhetoric with President Trump, given the asymmetry in power
But, of course, many experts have said that what we're seeing is extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and now in the Pacific with these bombings of drug, supposedly drug boats
There's no due process. There's no evidence. There's no transparency. We have very little information
So I think there are grounds to be very critical. But one has to sort of, I think, temper one's words because the United States is an important ally of Colombia
And Colombia needs the United States in a variety of issues, including trying to reduce drug trafficking in the country
Michael, we know that drug trafficking has been fueling Colombia's conflict for decades
President Petro has been trying a different approach. Why are those programs failing to reach those who want a fresh start
Well, I think, first of all, for those programs to be successful, you need huge resources
And I don't think Columbia has the resources. They've been willing to use the resources if you're going to create alternative sources of development, alternative development, which has been around forever
This is not exactly an original idea This has been you know in the last couple of decades I heard this many many times But in order to make it work you really need a lot of resources to give incentives
and credit for alternative crops. It's very hard to compete with cocoa because it's obviously very
lucrative. And so in order to make that change, you really have to commit resources. And the
Petro government has not been very effective in any of its public policies. You need a state that's
capable and you need a state that's prepared to commit resources. And I think neither of those
really are met in the case of Colombia under President Petro. And Michael, we mentioned this
before, but the U.S. has been fighting this so-called war on drugs to eradicate these drugs
for decades. Why have these efforts failed? First of all, I think everybody knows they've failed
I mean, if anybody who has any is serious and is honest, it's hard to deny that they've utterly failed
I think it's been misguided. I think that the problem, first of all, has not been to sufficiently tackle demand for these drugs
The programs have been very inadequate in the United States and Latin America and Europe as well
So that, I think, has been one problem. I think the other problem is I think they've they've been focused more on trying to take down cartel leaders or trying to make some really visible sort of action against drug trafficking without really doing the very, very hard police intelligence work that is required
These are these are huge, huge transnational businesses. And I think that requires a very different approach than we saw with, you know, Pablo Escobar in the early 1990s
This is the drug trade has evolved significantly. And I don't think the approaches from Washington and elsewhere have cupped up with these these these fundamental changes
They're moving very rapidly and the drug traffickers and those are involved in the drug trade
This is a huge business and you have to focus on that business and trying to address that business rather than showing off killing some drug leader or extraditing some cartel leader to the United States
That's not going to do it. That's not going to really, really solve the problem
All right. Michael Shifter, who's adjunct professor of Latin American studies at Georgetown University
Thanks so much for joining us on Al Jazeera. Great to get your perspective. Thank you