In a blow to rebel group FARC and the neo-paramilitary organization “Los Urabeños”, Colombian police destroyed 18 cocaine laboratories and seized one ton of unprocessed cocaine on Sunday.
During the operations realized by the Colombian police and the maritime unit of the prosecutor general, authorities seized 440 pounds of cocaine, 776 tons of chemical supplies used to process cocaine, 2,175 pounds of raw coca base and 1,014 pounds of coca leaves.
The expropriations were made in the northwestern Antioquia department, the central Caldas department and the northeastern Boyaca department.
According to the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, the seizures were blows to the FARC’s 9th Front and the neo-paramilitary group Los Urabeños.
According to the Colombian army’s 7th Division, the FARC’s 9th Front operates in the border areas between Antioquia and Caldas. The Front has traditionally funded itself by income from coca, but has in the past few years become increasingly involved in gold mining, as evidenced by its increased activity in mining areas.
According to the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime, coca cultivation decreased by 42% in Antioquia department between 2010 and 2011, a decrease partly attributed to the Colombian state’s coca eradication policies. However, the decrease also points to the FARC’s increased involvement in the gold trade. The 7th Division told Colombia Reports that the FARC have concentrated their forces to the so-called “mining corridor” in Bajo Cauca and Middle Magdalena, in order to gain more income from legal gold instead of illegal coca.
Bajo Cauca
Sources
- Golpe al narcotrafico de las Farc y ‘Los Urabeños’ en Antioquia, Boyaca y Caldas (Caracol Radio)
- Communication with the Colombian army’s Seventh Division.
- Coca cultivation monitor (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
