News
Cocaine · Colombia · Conflict · FARC
Former FARC guerrillas have fractured into violent factions, forcing Afrocolombian communities on Colombia's Pacific Coast to cultivate coca, leading to new cycles of violence, displacement, and economic exploitation, with over 40 bodies buried after a recent clash.
Post-2016 peace accord, these ex-FARC groups now control the entire coca production line, operating as "labour gangmasters" who fine farmers like Tulio for non-compliance and engage in territorial wars over plantations and trafficking routes. This conflict results in civilian casualties, including a 10-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain, and traps community leaders like Diego as prisoners in their own villages.
The violence drives urban migration, hollowing out rural communities, while coca and artisanal gold profits enable some residents to afford town houses, creating "mini-Miamis." A "conspiracy of silence" ensures cocaine flow, with state authorities largely absent or complicit, and the army focused on mine clearing rather than direct intervention against the armed groups, perpetuating the cycle of violence and forced labor.
