The Colombian government announced on Thursday that it will suspend aerial fumigation of illegal coca plantations in view of studies that link the herbicide glyphosate to cancer. For two decades, the government has used the chemical in the U.S. backed war on drugs. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement at a meeting of the National Drug Council. Previous recommendations to suspend the spraying have been made by Colombia’s Minister of Health based on a report by the World Health Organization that labels the herbicide as a likely cause of cancer. The measure is welcomed by peasant farmers who for decades have denounced the health risks associated with the chemical. Natalia Margarita reports from Bogota for teleSUR.
