Coca
Brief /
Coca Crops Surge Amid Security Vacuum on Peru-Bolivia Border
A spike in coca crops around a national park along the Bolivia-Peru border has accompanied a recent population boom and disintegrating security in the region, as...
Brief /
Chemicals for Cocaine Production Hidden in Sugar and Beer in Peru
Peruvian authorities managed to identify close to 20 methods for hiding illegal chemical components being sent to criminal groups in the VRAEM, the country’s top...
Analysis /
Bolivia Coca Growers Fight for Control of Legal Production
Violent tensions are flaring in Bolivia's capital between hostile factions of one of the country's coca growers’ unions, escalating a long-simmering conflict for...
Analysis /
Colombia’s Drug Strategy Paradox – Less Coca Crops, More Cocaine
A new UN study shows that while Colombia saw a slight drop in coca crop plantations between 2017 and 2018, this has not...
Brief /
Uncertainty Surrounds Protection Plan for Colombia’s Crop Substitution Leaders
The unveiling of a plan to protect community leaders involved in Colombia’s voluntary coca crop substitution program is not likely to alleviate security concerns,...
Analysis /
Resurgence of Coca in Putumayo Reflects Colombia’s Failed Strategy
The south of Putumayo has re-emerged as Colombia’s second-largest coca producing center, following a period of demobilizations and crop substitutions that had led...
Analysis /
Small Drop in Colombia’s Coca Crops Little Cause for Cheer
New US figures showing a tiny drop in Colombia’s drug cultivation over the last year are being hailed as evidence that a hardline crackdown is working, ignoring a...
Brief /
A Quarter of Gasoline Sold in Colombia Is Used for Cocaine
Dozens of gas stations in Colombia are under investigation for allegedly selling vast quantities of fuel to criminal groups to be used in coca paste processing,...
Analysis /
High-Profile Arrests Won’t Stem Cocaine Production in Peru’s VRAEM
Authorities have arrested two prominent drug traffickers in Peru’s largest coca-producing region in recent months, but the dentitions alone are unlikely to help...
Analysis /
A Death Foretold: Colombia’s Crop Substitution Program
The government’s failure to comply with the coca crops substitution program in Colombia has left the future of almost 100,000 families in limbo and sets up a...
Analysis /
Crop Eradication vs. Substitution Doubts Crippling Colombia Rural Communities
Colombia’s voluntary crop substitution program has seen almost 35,000 hectares of coca crops destroyed in just eight months, according to the United Nations...
Analysis /
Glyphosate Alone Won’t Fix Colombia’s Complex Coca Woes
Colombia’s Constitutional Court is debating lifting a judicial ban on the spraying of glyphosate during the controversial aerial fumigation of illicit coca crops,...
