All About Coca

NEWS

Land Grabbing: Tracing and Targeting the ‘Invisible’ Threat Destroying Colombia’s Forests

COCA / 25 MAR 2021

The sheer size of Colombia's reserves makes them a target for the illegal clearing, appropriation and sale of protected land.

US Sends Mixed Messages on Aerial Spraying in Colombia

COCA / 17 MAR 2021

The US State Department’s annual drug control strategy report calls for Colombia to restart the aerial eradication of coca crops, a position on which the administration of Joe Biden has…

GameChangers 2020: The Resurgence of the Central American Cocaine Highway

CACHIROS / 28 DEC 2020

A rush of drug plane traffic from South America, coupled with traffickers smuggling large cocaine shipments after coronavirus border restrictions eased, led to a surge in narcotics transiting Central America…

GameChangers 2020: Conflicting US Approach to Latin America Organized Crime

COCA / 22 DEC 2020

President-elect Joe Biden has a chance to reset the table on US-Latin American relations, but the Donald Trump administration’s schizophrenic, transactional approach may leave some lasting scars that will be…

Peru in Familiar Stalemate With Shining Path Rebels

COCA / 4 SEP 2020

Yet again, Peruvian security forces are seeking to force Shining Path guerrillas out a jungle region that produces most of the country’s cocaine, but military operations have long failed to…

Drop in Coca Crops, Increase in Colombian Cocaine

COCA / 26 JUN 2020

A drop of 15,000 hectares of coca crops in Colombia made no difference in reducing cocaine production in 2019 -- instead it increased compared with the previous year.

Violence Rages On in Colombia’s Cauca Department

COCA / 10 JUN 2020

A wave of violence has struck Colombia's southwestern Cauca department, in the form of targeted killings and armed groups battling for control of coca crops and trafficking routes -- a…

Colombia’s Coca Eradicators Spared From Coronavirus Lockdown

COCA / 20 MAY 2020

While it has imposed a stringent coronavirus lockdown, the Colombian government has come under fire for allowing coca eradication campaigns to continue largely unabated. Colombia’s President Iván Duque…

Tensions Rise in Bolivia’s Chapare as Government Escalates Anti-Drug Operations

BOLIVIA / 8 MAY 2020

Officials from Bolivia's interim government have stepped up drug trafficking operations over the last six months, but a focus on coca-producing communities in Cochabamba is creating tension with law enforcement…

‘Contador’ – Colombia’s Sought After Patron of Cocaine

COCA / 20 FEB 2020

The arrest of suspected crime boss "El Contador," who is accused of being one of Colombia's most powerful traffickers, could further stoke violence in Nariño, a coca-rich department. …

Wave of Murders Hits Small Coca-Producing Town in Northern Colombia

COCA / 3 DEC 2019

Murders have spiked in a northern Colombia town that borders Venezuela, is home to armed groups, and has an abundance of coca -- an explosive combination.

Half of All Destroyed Coca Crops Replanted in Colombia

COCA / 29 OCT 2019

The Colombian government has been lauding the success of its stringent targets for the eradication of coca crops nationwide, but with replanting rates estimated at up to 67 percent, the…

Colombia’s El Tandil – Where Children’s Education Depends on the Coca Leaf

COCA / 28 OCT 2019

A recent report on child labor in the municipality of Tumaco has shed light on why children and young people around Colombia find themselves cornered into participating in coca cultivation…

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4 FEB 2021

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THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area

ARGENTINA / 25 JAN 2021

Through several rounds of extensive field investigations, our researchers have analyzed and mapped out the main illicit economies and criminal groups present in 39 border departments spread across the six countries of study – the Northern Triangle trio of Guatemala, Honduras, and El…

BRIEF

InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize

COLOMBIA / 20 NOV 2020

The staff at InSight Crime was awarded the prestigious Simón Bolívar national journalism prize in Colombia for its two-year investigation into the drug trafficker known as “Memo Fantasma,” which was…

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works

COLOMBIA / 12 NOV 2020

This project began 10 years ago as an effort to address a problem: the lack of daily coverage, investigative stories and analysis of organized crime in the Americas. …

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas

FEATURED / 2 NOV 2020

In early 2009, Steven Dudley was in Medellín, Colombia. His assignment: speak to a jailed paramilitary leader in the Itagui prison, just south of the city. Following his interview inside…

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