US govt fixed Colombia coca production figures: NarcoLeaks

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Colombia Reports

US govt fixed Colombia coca production figures: NarcoLeaks
Wednesday, 07 December 2011 07:15
Toni Peters

The United States has fixed Colombia's coca production figures, website NarcoLeaks reported Wednesday.

According to NarcoLeaks, a group of Italian journalists and researchers, U.S. official statistics list total Colombian cocaine production as 295 metric tons in 2008, whereas in fact 351.8 metric tons -- equal to 121.3% of official figures -- of Colombian cocaine has been seized in worldwide operations. Colombia Reports cannot find any information confirming this second figure.

The group also looked at data pertaining to cocaine processing labs. It claims that Colombian police uncovered one such lab in the department of Meta in Colombia's Eastern Plains on October 14 with the capacity to produce 500kg to 800kg per day. This is equivalent to 182 to 292 metric tons per year.

The higher figure surpasses the aforementioned official statics of Colombian cocaine production. If NarcoLeaks claims about official statistics are correct this would mean according to the U.S. Colombia has only one cocaine processing lab. In Colombia 200 to 300 cocaine processing labs are found and destroyed each year.

Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/20925-colombia-is-still-top-coca-producer-us-govt-did-maths-wrong.html

[Old and In the Way]

1. Not only are they setting market pricing by putting a street value on busts,

but they are helping to inflate the value by under reporting production? You'd think they inflate the availability of the product to reduce the commodity value, thereby making it less attractive to be in the coke smuggling business.

[fasttense]

2. If the US is fixing these numbers, what other numbers are they fixing?