By Plan V* The Comandos de la Frontera, a Colombian armed group that also operates in northern Ecuador, and the Ecuadorian gang Los Choneros have imposed a regime of terror in the Amazonian provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana, although the alliances between them are unclear. One of the illegal activities that has grown the most […]
Category: Colombia
Colombian companies defy laws, push Amazon carbon projects in Indigenous lands
Without proper consultation, leaders were persuaded to accept a carbon project on indigenous lands in the Amazon, with the promise that the money would fund a university in the villages; Funai (National Indian Foundation) was unaware of pre-contracts and states that negotiations may be annulled.
Drug gangs threaten communities in Amazon ‘cocaine corridor’
Indigenous, African-descended and other traditional communities are caught in escalating violence from drug trafficking in Amazon “cocaine corridor.”
In Venezuela, Colombian guerrillas recruit Indigenous youth
Along border with Venezuela, Colombian guerrillas lure unemployed Indigenous youths into drug trade, extortion rackets and armed conflict.
Colombian drug runners turn to shamans for protection
Before embarking on a perilous trek through the jungle, drug couriers in Colombia turn to shamans for protection.
The poorest narcos in the drug-trafficking chain
The poorest narcos in the trafficking chain risk even their own children to deliver drugs to criminal organizations.
Dredges: Gold mining spurs crime & corruption on Brazil-Colombia border
Miners dredging millions of dollars in gold from Brazil’s Puruê River devastate the environment and attract armed groups.
Welcome to the Amazon Underworld
The Amazon, the largest rainforest in the world, is also a source and transit point for illegally extracted jungle resources and narcotics. As criminal economies expand, violence and deforestation worsen
Deforestation in the Amazon: past, present and future
According to a new study from RAISG, in just five years, the Amazon could lose almost half of what it lost in the past two decades.
Attacks against environmental defenders continue during the COVID-19 crisis
At least six defenders of the environment have been killed in Latin American since 11 March, the date on which the pandemic was declared.