The Peter Zeihan Podcast Series Trump and Petro Revive the Colombian Cocaine Industry || Peter Zeihan
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Oct 30, 2025 A political clash is brewing as Trump cuts military and economic aid to Colombia, potentially reviving the cocaine trade. Colombia’s geography has long facilitated coca cultivation, fueling its dual economies and historical conflict. The decline of FARC created a vacuum for new trafficking actors, and the U.S. aid cuts threaten to push farmers back into coca production. With Petro’s populist stance reshaping leadership, tensions are mounting between him and Trump, highlighting the complex dynamics of U.S. foreign policy and drug economics.
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Geography Created Colombia's Coca Economy
- Colombia's geography creates a natural split between coca-growing lowlands and population-heavy highlands.
- That geographic divide enabled a parallel illicit economy centered on cocaine production for decades.
U.S. Military Build-Up And FARC's Fall
- The U.S. spent about $30 billion to build up Colombian military capacity and dismantle FARC.
- That military push broke FARC but left cocaine production intact and later shifted control to paramilitaries.
Victory Reallocated, Not Ended, The Trade
- After FARC's military decline, right-wing paramilitaries moved into former FARC zones and trafficked cocaine.
- Victory in war redistributed control of the drug trade rather than ending it.