One glyphosate: Toxic dispossession and the agri-military regime in Colombia

Abstract

Glyphosate is the most widely used non-selective herbicide globally in terms of volume and land area. In Colombia, its use for military purposes within the so-called War on Drugs has been a contentious issue in political debate and social mobilization since the late 1990s, culminating in the suspension of aerial spraying in 2015 and its ban in 2022. Despite decades of evidence and denunciations from communities, organizations, and scientists regarding glyphosate's harmful effects on human health and ecological systems, its widespread use in both small- and large-scale agriculture has been largely overlooked in public debates and government policies. In this article, we identify and analyze how the convergence between military and agricultural uses of glyphosate has resulted in the toxic dispossession of rural communities in Colombia as part of a violent anti-campesino policy. We argue that this convergence has shaped an agri-military regime requiring critical examination and public discussion. Drawing on interviews with social leaders and scholars, as well as an analysis of legal, public policy, and media documents, we demonstrate how glyphosate has articulated a strategy of dispossession and violence targeting campesino, Black, and Indigenous communities in Colombia's recent history.