# Cocaine output at record highs as Ecuador's ports become the trade's superhighway
> Global production topped 3,700 tonnes in the last UNODC count; Ecuadorian ports now move up to 80% of Europe's cocaine as Petro rejects UN monitoring

**Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-18 · heads: 谁的钱, 什么崩了, 长远之局 · 12 takes · 3 lenses · 9 regions

## Summary

Global [cocaine](/zh/entity/cocaine-routes) production stands at a record, about 3,708 tonnes in the last
[Unodc](/zh/entity/unodc) count, with 25 million users, driven by [Colombia](/zh/entity/colombia), whose potential output reached
2,664 tonnes on 253,000 hectares of coca, a tenth straight annual rise. The transit map has shifted
seaward: roughly 30% of cocaine found in global shipping containers departed from an [Ecuadorian](/zh/entity/ecuador)
port, and up to 80% of Europe's cocaine is estimated to transit Ecuador. Guayaquil's June 2026 "Ares"
raids underline the containerised-export model. Meanwhile [Gustavo Petro](/zh/entity/gustavo-petro) announced in January 2026
that Colombia will reject UNODC production estimates, citing methodology, as his police claim a 56.9%
cultivation drop, a statistical war over whether the record is real.

## By the numbers

- 3,708 tonnes, record global cocaine production (last UNODC count).
- 2,664 tonnes, Colombia's potential output; 253,000 ha of coca (10th straight rise).
- ~30%, share of container-detected cocaine departing an Ecuadorian port.
- up to 80%, estimated share of Europe's cocaine transiting Ecuador.
- 56.9%, cultivation drop claimed by Colombia's own police, disputing UNODC.

## Why it matters

Cocaine is the world's fastest-growing illicit drug market, and its violence has migrated south to
Ecuador, where homicide rates exploded with the port trade. Petro's rejection of UN monitoring
removes the independent yardstick just as the record peaks, clouding the global picture.

## What to watch

- Whether Colombia's withdrawal from UNODC monitoring degrades the global dataset.
- Ecuador port-security operations and any drop in container detections.
- European arrival ports (Antwerp, Rotterdam) and onward Australian/Asian routes.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **UNODC** (Global, en) — UN Office on Drugs and Crime data: a record 3,708 tonnes of cocaine produced globally in the last reporting year (up a third), 25 million users; Colombia's potential output reached 2,664 tonnes on 253,000 hectares of coca, the 10th consecutive annual rise.
  Source: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/world-drug-report-2025.html
- **World Customs Organization (via reports)** (Global, en) — Crop-monitoring and customs data underpinning the Ecuador transit finding: roughly 30% of cocaine detected in shipping containers globally departed from an Ecuadorian port; estimates that up to 80% of Europe's cocaine transits Ecuador.
  Source: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/crop-monitoring/
- **InSight Crime** (Latin America, en) — 
  Source: https://insightcrime.org/news/insight-crimes-2025-cocaine-seizure-round-up/
- **The City Paper Bogotá** (Colombia, en) — 
  Source: https://thecitypaperbogota.com/news/cocaine-production-hits-record-high-colombias-coca-crop-at-253000-hectares/
- **El Universo** (Ecuador, es) — 
  Source: https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/seguridad/cuatro-toneladas-de-drogas-se-decomisan-en-puerto-de-guayaquil-nota/
- **RUSI** (United Kingdom, en) — 
  Source: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/insights-papers/colombia-ecuador-organised-crime-and-security-nexus
- **International Crisis Group** (Belgium, en) — 
  Source: https://www.crisisgroup.org/rpt/latin-america-caribbean/colombia-ecuador-guatemala-honduras-mexico/108-curbing-violence-latin-america-drug-trafficking-hotspots
- **The Conversation** (Australia, en) — 
  Source: https://theconversation.com/colombia-is-producing-more-cocaine-than-ever-and-more-is-reaching-australian-shores-261745
- **Small Wars Journal** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://smallwarsjournal.com/2026/03/06/ecuador-drug-trafficking-us-operation/
- **Infobae** (Argentina, es) — 
  Source: https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2025/06/20/incautacion-en-guayaquil-alcanzo-los-948-kilos-de-droga/

### Ecuadorian market/independent
- **Primicias** (Ecuador, es) — Tracks Ecuador's seizure swings, 295 tonnes at ports in 2024, falling in 2025, and the operational tempo (Ares-series raids in Guayaquil, June 2026), framing port containerised export to Europe as the structural driver behind the country's homicide crisis.
  > "Drug seizures in Ecuador fell in the first half of 2025 versus the prior year, when nearly 53 more tonnes were intercepted."
  Source: https://www.primicias.ec/sucesos/incautacion-droga-primer-semestre-2025-policia-nacional-narcotrafico-99709/

### regional analysis
- **Latin America Reports** (Latin America, en) — Reports President Petro's January 2026 move to stop using UNODC production estimates, citing methodology disputes, while Colombia's National Police published its own figures claiming a 56.9% cultivation drop, a statistical contest over whether the record is real.
  > "Petro says his government will no longer use UN cocaine-production estimates, citing inaccuracies in the methodology."
  Source: https://www.latinamericareports.com/petro-proposes-end-to-un-cocaine-monitoring-in-colombia-citing-inaccuracies/13385/

## Across the graph
- Related: [[colombia-cauca-pacific-bombing-wave]], [[colombia-total-peace-collapse-catatumbo]], [[cjng-desintegracion-mencho]]
- Entities: Cocaine Routes, Colombia, Ecuador, Unodc, Gustavo Petro

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/zh/n/cocaine-record-ecuador-superhighway-2026