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Panama is on pace for record drug seizures this year, and the president has blamed Colombia's cocaine boom
REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama is on track to hit a record level of illegal narcotics seizures this year after authorities over the weekend seized about 2 metric tons of cocaine near the Central American country's border with Colombia, officials said on Monday.
The total drug confiscations in full-year 2017 are expected to surpass the previous annual record of 72 metric tons confiscated last year, Security Minister Alexis Bethancourt told reporters, adding that the uptick is due to better coordination among local law enforcement agencies as well as help from "friendly countries."
The weekend drug bust was made in the border province of Darien on a boat from Colombia, the national border agency SENAFRONT said at a press conference.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela has previously complained that a peace deal between the Colombian government and the Marxist FARC rebel group has led to a spike in drug trafficking and violence in Panama.
Colombia's production of coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, hit a low in 2012, around the time the country's government began peace talks with the FARC. Between 2013 and 2016, coca cultivation increased 134% — though that spike was driven by a variety of factors outside the peace process, which was concluded with a deal at the end of 2016.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno, writing by David Alire Garcia; editing by G Crosse)
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