The government of Colombia has started to use drones to destroy the plants that produce cocaine.
Small aircraft loaded with herbicide are being sent to search for illegal fields of coca.
President Iván Duque has favoured the use of the unmanned aircraft to ensure that damage to neighbouring crops is kept to a minimum.
Critics have warned that the approach may be a technological fix to a problem that needs a political solution.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Colombian authorities had partnered with drone company Fumi Drones SAS to provide unmanned aircraft as well as to train police.
German Huertas, the drone company’s director of operations, said the drones had eliminated about 90% of the coca on each acre (0.4 hectare) targeted during tests in the country’s Narino province.
The trial has involved the deployment of 10 drones, each weighing 23kg (51lb) and carrying the plant-killing chemical glyphosate.
The measures form part of President Duque’s push to eradicate cocaine production in Colombia.
