Between 2002 and 2008, the total hectares of cocaine eradicated rose from 133,127 to 229,227; tons of cocaine seized rose from 105.1 to 245.5; and the number of drug labs seized rose from 1,448 to 3,667. All statistics on narcotics production are hard to gather and therefore suspect, but the latest indications are that last year cocaine production in Colombia fell by 40 percent. Although Colombia's GDP grew by only 2.4 percent in 2008 as a result of the worldwide slowdown, it grew almost 8 percent in 2007, up from less than 2 percent in 2002. Unemployment is still high at 11.1 percent, but considerably lower than in 2002 when it was 15.7 percent. See also Colombia–United States relations Leahy Law Mérida Initiative United States and South and Central America Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Orange Sandra Suárez References Further reading Journals News Plan Colombia Misses Coca Target of November 6, 2008, BBC News''' Plan Accion Target of November 6, 2008, BSC News' External links Conductive Capacity of The State: An Assessment of Mexican Political Institutions Since the Merida Initiative Mérida Initiative, Texas State J.P. Olvera Chomsky's chapter on Plan Colombia. Photos, statistics, graphs, and maps The Colombian Miracle , The Weekly StandardGovernment resources Successful coca eradication results in Colombia Videos Excerpt about Plan Colombia 4 video clips Video clips Fictional story. Love story about Fernando, an older man who has recently returned to his crime-ridden and drug influenced hometown of Medellin, Colombia.'' Volume two contains "China," "India," and "Colombia." Drug control law Colombia–United States relations History of drug control Colombian conflict Operations against organized crime in Colombia Drugs in Colombia Illegal drug trade in the United States American terrorism victims