Coca eradication is a controversial strategy strongly promoted by the
United States government starting in 1961 as part of its "
War on Drugs" to eliminate the cultivation of
coca, a plant whose leaves are not only traditionally used by
indigenous cultures but also, in modern society, in the manufacture of
cocaine. The strategy was adopted in place of running educational campaigns against drug usage. The
prohibitionist strategy is being pursued in the coca-growing regions of
Colombia (
Plan Colombia),
Peru, and formerly
Bolivia, where it is highly controversial because of its environmental, health and socioeconomic impact. Furthermore, indigenous cultures living in the
Altiplano, such as the
Aymaras, use the coca leaf (which they dub the "millenary leaf") in many of their cultural traditions, notably for its medicinal qualities in alleviating the feeling of hunger, fatigue and headaches symptomatic of
altitude sicknesses. The growers of coca are named
Cocaleros and part of the coca production for traditional use is legal in Peru, Bolivia and
Chile.