Colombia: Cocaine Production Driving Deforestation into Colombian National Park

Jan 7, 2021 | René Mora, Mongabay
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The location of the Catatumbo region sits on the border with Venezuela, making it a strategic route for armed groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to traffic drugs out of Colombia. Territorial disputes over coca-producing areas reportedly happen daily, and residents say they live in fear of displacement or even death if they speak out about illegal activities connected to the region’s drug trade. Those who agreed to speak to Mongabay did so on the condition of anonymity; their names have been changed in this story.