Deadly clashes as Colombia destroys coca crops
Drug traffickers and armed gangs oppose the initiative, and at least seven people have died in a recent clashes over it. Many others were injured by land mines laid by gangs to scare people away from destroying coca plants.
The cultivation of coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, is booming once again in Colombia. The government is trying to slash production by employing hundreds of people and police officers to help destroy the crops.
But it is dangerous work. Drug traffickers and armed gangs oppose the initiative, and at least seven people have died in recent clashes over it. Several others have been injured by land mines laid by gangs in the fields to scare people away from destroying coca plants.
Al Jazeera’s Alessangro Rampietti reports from Tumaco.