WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) led a letter signed by 19 Members of Congress to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing opposition to any U.S. financial or logistical support for the planned resumption of aerial fumigation in Colombia. The program, which was banned by Colombia’s Constitutional Court in 2015, was found to be ineffective in diminishing coca cultivation and additionally poses a critical threat to human health and local ecosystems. The proposed pilot project, which would target an initial area of 1,000 hectares, or 2,471 acres, has been temporarily frozen by an administrative court in Mocoa. The Members urge Secretary Rubio to allow Colombia’s court challenges to proceed without U.S. pressure or intervention.
“We write to express our serious concerns regarding the intended reinitiation of aerial fumigation in Colombia amid reports that the Trump Administration has encouraged Colombia to restart the program,” the Members began. “We are opposed to any U.S. financial or logistical support for the planned resumption of aerial fumigation, which has not been shown to be effective in reducing coca cultivation and poses a significant threat to human health and fragile ecosystems.”
“In 2015, Colombia’s Constitutional Court banned the use of aerial fumigation after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate, which was the key ingredient in Colombia’s fumigation program, as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” the Members added. “More than two decades of glyphosate aerial fumigation caused devastating health outcomes for communities already disproportionately affected by the armed conflict, Colombia’s small holder farmers and Afro-descendent, and Indigenous communities and the local ecosystems they protect, including the Amazon rainforest.”
“The proposed pilot project would target an initial area of 1000 hectares, or 2,471 acres, in the Amazonian department of Putumayo. On September 12, an administrative court in Mocoa temporarily froze the pilot project, stating that it must meet the conditions set by the Constitutional Court before proceeding, and that as of now sufficient information has not been provided,” the Members continued. “The Colombian government has appealed this decision. As many local communities, Indigenous peoples, environmental organizations, medical professionals, and Colombian Congresspeople are speaking out against the aerial fumigation pilot proposal, the Trump Administration should refrain from pressuring the Colombian government to double down on a failed counternarcotics strategy.”
“Meanwhile, we urge the Trump administration to learn lessons from the past and understand that only through providing meaningful alternatives to coca production will slow its spread,” the Members continued. “No action was more harmful to U.S. efforts than the administration’s illegal dismantlement of USAID. Prior to January 2025, USAID financed a series of activities in the Colombian Amazon supporting sustainable alternatives to coca cultivation and production. These programs designed to address the underlying economic insecurity faced by rural communities and to undermine the lure of illicit economies, such as sustainable agro-forest production, green tourism, and enforcement against environmental crimes, were abruptly eliminated and have not been replaced.”
“Two decades of aerial fumigation intended to reduce coca cultivation did not prove effective over the long-term. We continue to oppose U.S. financial or logistical assistance to resume ineffective aerial fumigation programs, and strongly urge the Trump administration to respect Colombia’s institutions and allow court challenges to proceed without intervention,” the Members concluded.
A digital copy of the full letter can be found here.
The full list of signers includes: Reps. Mark Pocan (WI-02), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Summer Lee (PA-12), James McGovern (MA-02), Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-00), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12).
