On the front line of Colombia's cocaine war
Across the world, people are taking more cocaine than ever. Users from the UK to Europe and the US are estimated to consume up to six tonnes of the drug every day.
Since January, more than 65,000 people in Colombia have been forced to flee their homes in the worst violence in the country for a decade.
The Colombian army is trying to push the guerilla groups back. But they're stretched incredibly thin.
We spent weeks travelling through the mountainous region in the country's north talking to coca farmers, displaced civilians, the army and the guerrilla groups themselves to try to understand how the cocaine industry works — and why it's brought Colombia back to war.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Peru's president affirms sovereignty of Amazon River island as tensions with Colombia escalate
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Friday traveled to an Amazon River island at the center of a territorial dispute with Colombia, where she affirmed Peru's unquestionable sovereignty over the territory. The first visit from Boluarte to the island comes against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions with Colombia, whose president, Gustavo Petro, recently disavowed Peruvian jurisdiction over Santa Rosa Island. Security force chiefs and members of Parliament welcomed Boluarte and Cabinet ministers to the territory, where she sang the Peruvian national anthem as people waved red-and-white flags. 'Unfortunately, for several days now, unacceptable actions have been taking place that affect the brotherhood that unites our two nations and the border communities,' Boluarte said. 'Peru's sovereignty is not in dispute; the district of Santa Rosa de Loreto is Peruvian and will remain so.' Tensions between the neighboring countries escalated Tuesday, when Peruvian police arrested three Colombian men who were on the island doing land surveying work. Colombia's government on Thursday demanded the immediate release of the men after a Peruvian judge freed one of them but ordered the other two remain in jail for seven days while authorities investigate them for the alleged crime of attacking national sovereignty. Petro described the arrests as a 'kidnapping.' His government has said the detainees — a land surveyor and a boat driver — were conducting studies to measure the depth of bodies of water for a pier expansion in the Colombian border city of Leticia. Peruvian authorities said the workers were not authorized to carry out the measurements. The arrest of the two Colombians marks the third binational incident in the area since Petro denied Peru's jurisdiction over Santa Rosa Island on Aug. 5. Two days later, a Colombian military aircraft flew over the island, and on Monday, the former mayor of the Colombian city of Medellín, Daniel Quintero, planted a Colombian flag there. Police later removed the flag. About 3,000 people live in tiny Santa Rosa Island, which emerged in the middle of the Amazon River last century. Peru maintains it owns Santa Rosa Island based on treaties about a century old, but Colombia disputes that ownership because the island had not yet emerged from the river at the time. ____
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Canadian court suggests HOT WEATHER was to blame for vicious assault of Jewish father enjoying park with his children
A man accused of viciously assaulting a Jewish father-of-three in front of his young children has been handed a wild excuse for the unprovoked attack. Sergio Yanes Preciado, 23, allegedly approached the unidentified father, 32, inside a park in Montreal's Parc-Extension neighborhood in Canada around 2:45pm on August 8 and began spraying water on him, before repeatedly punching him. Shocking video captured by a witness showed the suspect kneeling over the victim, while swinging his fist repeatedly into his head. The man eventually kicked the attacker off him and got to his knees, while trying to keep his children close. The suspect was then seen stuffing items into a red bag before picking up what appeared to be a black kippah and throwing it into a large puddle of water. He then walked off while the victims stared, stunned. Preciado was arrested Monday and charged with assault causing bodily harm the next day. Now, a criminologist, who was not identified, has suggested the hot weather might have contributed to Preciado's actions that day. Temperatures reached a high of almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The criminologist had conducted a quick mental health evaluation ahead of Preciado's appearance before Quebec Court Judge Martin Chalifour inside Montreal courthouse Wednesday, according to The Montreal Gazette. Preciado also 'seemed to have delirious ideas linked to his actions,' Judge Chalifour said, reading from the criminologist's report. 'The consumption of drugs does not seem to be connected to his mental health, but the criminologist concludes that an evaluation of his responsibility indicates (he should be evaluated further),' the judge said. Preciado's mother also reported her son was struggling with his mental health, according the Montreal Gazette. The criminologist recommended Preciado for further examination. In Wednesday's hearing, the court ordered Preciado to undergo a 30-day evaluation at Philippe Pinel Institute. He will remain detained during that period. The victim's family members spoke of their relief that his alleged attacker will remain in custody. 'We feel good that this person wasn't released and he's not going to be anywhere next to the victim's family or next to anybody else to be able to attack people,' the victim's brother-in-law, Zev Feldman, told City News. Feldman said his three nieces had been left traumatized after witnessing the attack. The family also believes the assault may have been motivated by hatred and antisemitism, he said. The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Prime Minister Mark Carney weighed in on the incident, calling it an 'appalling act of violence'. 'Everyone in Canada has an inalienable right to live in safety,' he wrote in a statement. 'My thoughts are with the victim and his family as they recover.' Preciado is expected back in court on September 12.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Lincolnshire husband and wife among trio jailed over drugs stash
A married couple have been jailed after police discovered a large stash of cocaine in a farm stable Dyer, 40, of Marina Court, Burton Waters, Lincoln, took over Philip Dyer's drugs operation when he was jailed for drugs and money laundering offences in 2018, Lincoln Crown Court was later discovered the cocaine along with cutting agents and a hydraulic press in the stables in Greetwell, near pair and Nicola Dyer's stepfather, Romualdas Budrys, 70, admitted conspiring to supply Class A drugs between March 2017 and June 2019. Phillip Plant, prosecuting, described the operation as a "major enterprise". 'Profitable operation' Philip Dyer, 45, was already in jail after police searched a farm in Navenby, near Sleaford. In mitigation, Dominic Thomas said he accepted being the originator of the drug dealing operation and had not left jail since March Wade KC, mitigating for Nicola Dyer, said she became involved because of her children."There was some pressure," Miss Wade said, adding that she had "now established a new life away from her husband".Chris Jeyes, in mitigation for Budrys, said he played a lesser role in the operation and had pleaded guilty at the first Dyer was given nine years and four months in prison, Nicola Dyer was sentenced to six years and four months, and Budrys was given three years and four sentence, Recorder Graham Huston said: "This was a very significant and profitable operation." Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
