Colombia's new hard-right government, led by President Abelardo de la Espriella, has repealed a decade-old ban on aerial glyphosate spraying, clearing the way for the herbicide to be used against coca plantations estimated to cover 330,000 hectares. The ban was originally imposed in 2015 under a previous conservative government after rural communities exposed to the spray reported spikes in miscarriages, birth defects, and respiratory, skin, and neurological illnesses. Authorities insist aerial spraying will still require individual environmental permits rather than proceeding automatically, but the move aligns with a broader push by de la Espriella — who campaigned on promises to crush armed drug-trafficking groups — and comes as the United States under Donald Trump has resumed domestic glyphosate production and seeks to supply Colombia as a partner in counter-narcotics efforts; the World Health Organization classifies glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans."