Tegucigalpa Honduras. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Unprecedentedly fast Coca farming in Honduras is generating fresh questions about the nation’s transition from a drug trafficking route to a cocaine-producing hotspot.
According to a March 5 report by InSight Crime, Honduran security forces destroyed coca crops in 16 municipalities in 2024—a record high and a sharp increase from just nine the previous year.
Authorities also carried out 81 coca-related raids, nearly triple the number in 2023. However, the total land area affected slightly declined to 461 hectares.
The data points to a more fragmented pattern of coca cultivation, with smaller plots appearing across more locations. Experts caution, though, that the accurate scale is likely more significant, as the figures only reflect crops that have been detected.
The first six weeks of 2025 have shown no signs of slowing. Military units reported 11 additional raids, the destruction of nearly 250,000 coca plants, and the discovery of nine drug-processing labs.
“The territory is immense and mountainous. It can’t all be controlled,” stated a security analyst to InSight Crime. The analyst added that Honduras lacks the detection capabilities of major coca producers like Colombia.
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Coca cultivation was first detected in the country in 2018 in Esquipulas del Norte, Olancho.
At the time, officials downplayed the threat, labeling it an isolated experiment. However, six years later, the crop took root in departments including Atlántida, Yoro, Santa Bárbara, and even on the remote western border with Guatemala.
While authorities have argued that Honduran coca is inferior to South American varieties, traffickers appear to have refined their operations.
A government official estimated a single hectare can yield about 2,550 kilograms of dry leaves annually—less than half of Colombian yields, but still profitable.
A 2024 study published in Environmental Research Letters concluded that nearly half of northern Central America has favorable conditions for coca cultivation.
Researchers noted that growing coca closer to the United States offers economic advantages for traffickers.
Despite these developments, U.S. involvement remains minimal. “The United States makes a lot of demands, but their participation in the fight against coca is limited,” the security analyst said.
Colón and Olancho, where coca was first discovered, still account for two-thirds of seizures.
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Both departments are rural, violent, and heavily influenced by criminal groups such as the Montes Bobadilla Clan, which prosecutors have tied to coca production.
Drug processing remains rudimentary, with labs producing only cocaine paste. Final processing into cocaine hydrochloride likely takes place in Guatemala or Mexico.
However, officials and residents warn that local crack cocaine production and consumption are skyrocketing.
“People are cooking coca to make crack rocks, even near police stations,” one community leader said.
With a single crack rock selling for 50 lempiras—about $2—authorities fear Honduras may not only be cultivating coca but also developing its own domestic drug market.
