A Colombian police intelligence report claims that the FARC now accounts for 70% of the cocaine produced in Colombia, Caracol Radio reported Thursday.
The report claims that at least eight units of the FARC are now engaged solely in the production and trafficking of cocaine, and are not involved in the fight against the government or in terrorist acts.
These units, which have converted themselves into a full-fledged drug cartel, have effectively eliminated middle-men traffickers and seized the industry for themselves.
The report explains that these units have been acting under direct orders from the FARC’s leadership to extend their presence in Central America and reach European consumer markets, in order to increase profits. To this end they have established alliances with narco-traffickers in Peru, Panama, and Mexico.
Confrontations have begun to arise within the FARC as a result of the growing power wielded by its narco-trafficking wings. On some occasions, orders given by FARC leaders Alfonso Cano and Mono Jojoy have been disobeyed.
A document recovered from a FARC camp a month ago recorded that Alfonso Cano and Mono Jojoy reprimanded local FARC commander Edgar Tovar for failing to send the COP3 billion pesos ($1.5 million) mandated each week, which is used to “support their political links in Canada, Australia, and neighboring friends,” the report claims.
The report took 50 police investigators over a year to produce. According to Caracol Radio it was delivered to Colombia’s Ministry of Defense, and the intelligence has been shared with countries where the FARC has established alliances.
