Sébastien Longhurst is our Observer in Bogota. He's visited a "lab".
I saw the
same process as in the video. It's was during a trek in the Sierra
Nevada de Santa Marta, in the northeast of the country. A strange
region - the bottom of the mountains is controlled by the army, the middle by
the paramilitary, and the top by the Farc. At some point in the trek a farmer
invited us to visit his "little lab". He explained all the stages of treatment of
the coca plant, exactly as you see in the film. But I did notice a small error
- that at the end of the process, it's lime [whitewash] that he adds, not
cement.
These small-scale farms move around regularly to avoid being caught by the army. They don't produce cocaine, but bazuco - a coca paste that's still raw. The final operation, which makes it possible to extract the powder - cocaine - is only done by the traffickers. That's because it's a difficult task that needs specific materials, but also because the traffickers want to keep control over the sale of the drug. The farmers we visited sold their bazuco to the paramilitaries, who then take the drug to the Colombian coast to be treated and exported.
These farmers don't have any choice but to be a part of trafficking. Firstly because it's more lucrative than anything else. But also because if they refuse, they'll basically be shot.
I really hope people understand that there's nothing fun or romantic about drugs trafficking. It's drugs that are responsible for the country's violent climate, that allow the Farc to carry on taking hostages. Trafficking is the reason why Ingrid Betancourt is still imprisoned. Colombian people know that and they consume much less than the Americans or Europeans, even if the drug here is much cheaper (€3 for a gram of cocaine in comparison with around €70 - €100 in Europe).
I'd like to get the message across that the drugs problem lies with demand rather than supply. Fighting against the producers and the traffickers is useless if you don't address the root of the problem - consumption. In other words, as long as there are French people willing to pay €100 for a sachet of coke, we can't stop Colombian farmers from making it."
Comments
Thanks for sharing this but
Submitted by harold on Thu, 04/09/2008 - 15:39.Thanks for sharing this but I can't stop thinking about the risks of exposing this kind of information online. There are people that have a high interest for this sort of things and they might try it and even worse they might succeed producing cocaine, I don't think this is too safe...
Drug detox
harold
Coca culture
Submitted by Hotels Argentina (not verified) on Sun, 10/08/2008 - 16:06.I absolutely agree with Sebastien in that it is the demand from the West that fuels the trade and the subsequent war. Coca is part of Latin-American culture in its original use to fight fatigue and altitude sickness by chewing the leafs. As far down as Northern Argentina is it used this way. And off course the leaves are sold to tourists at an extra profit, because they are willing to pay more out of curiosity.
Unregistered user
The demand from the west
Submitted by shopping clothes for big men (not verified) on Wed, 03/09/2008 - 18:02.The demand from the west might be the reason that people want to grow and trade in Opiates, but it is the failure of the governments in those countries to stamp it out at source.
It must be much easier to stop people growing huge fields than it is to stop a demand for it.
Unregistered user
Very Unfortunate Economy
Submitted by bus for sale (not verified) on Tue, 15/07/2008 - 21:15.This all has to do with economy. It is along the same lines as Blood Diamonds. It is easy to blame the farmer, but the point is that everyone needs to surive and have food, water and shelter.
It's difficult to imagine in this day and age how there could still be millions of people everyday dying from lack of water, food or shelter.
Unregistered user
It's kind of a two way
Submitted by Irish gift (not verified) on Tue, 12/08/2008 - 14:22.It's kind of a two way thing. Sure if there is no demand then there would be little point in the farmers of colombia producing the stuff. But that said, if end users don't get hooked in the first place then the demand wouldn't be sustained.
The other point is that it is much easier for our governments to do something about the drugs problem at home. It's not so easy doing something about the people who are producing it in colombia. And we have to do something.
Unregistered user