Columbian Gold

No, it's not the latest trend in South American marihuana. Unfortunately, it's the latest in guerrilla warfare funding.

January it was reported how a laptop captured from left wing rebels FARC by the Colombian government had contained information about how the group had started business in gold mining. (Colombia Reports / 'FARC use illegal mining to finance war')

Last week The New York Times published In Colombia, New Gold Rush Fuels Old Conflict with more details. It turns out it's not just FARC but multiple sides in the conflict that are turning their eyes on gold as cocaine becomes harder and harder to produce while more gold mines are located and gold prices are up. Paramilitaries related to right, left or apolitical outlaw groups launder the profits through, for example, cattle ranching.

One city, Antioquia, has the highest mercury pollution levels found anywhere according to one United Nations investigation. Lawless miners use the liquid form of the toxic heavy metal without restraint or concern and an estimated 67 tons are released every year. About 30,000 miners take part in the gold rush, shrugging at the danger of working in waters thick with mercury.

"All I can say is that he who has the gun gives the orders."
 - miner in Anorí, Octaviano Hernández

Mexicans march in support of drug cartel

Perhaps you thought the year 2029 scenario mentioned in my summary of Gwynne Dyer's Climate Wars was a bit far fetched? Granted, Mexican states being ruled by warlords is a bit imaginative. So is reality.

Read Narco Blog / Mexicans March in Support of “ La Familia” Drug Cartel:

In an unprecedented event, on Sunday citizens of the Apatzingan community expressed support for La Familia drug cartel by organizing a march.  In recent days life has become so dangerous in Apatzingan that people have had to remain locked in their homes and losing their freedom to come and go. The recent Government coordinated attack was on the La Familia Michoacana Drug Cartel.  One of the clashes resulted in the death of Nazario Moreno, considered the leader of La Familia Michoacana.

Nazario’s death has provoked reactions from members of the drug cartel that have led to retaliation on some of the Michoacan local authorities.  The community of Apatzingan organized a march to protest the violence and over 500 people participated. The message was clear, showing outrage against federal forces that “attacked “ the town in recent days, leaving 11 people dead, including innocent bystanders.

The demonstration showed the support for La Familia Michoacana, in the Central Plaza by carrying signs that read messages like “Viva La Familia Michoacana”, “Nazario lives in our hearts” and “Get Out PFP.”

 Even the town mayor is in:

"The insecurity is not caused by the delinquent groups. It is the federal police, who, pardon me, but they go into houses, in almost the entire municipality."
 - Mayor Genaro Guizar

"[La Familia started as] a vigilante group to counter local street crime and law enforcement corruption. Now, La Familia Michoacana uses drug proceeds to fuel their agenda that encompasses a Robin Hood-type mentality — steal from the rich and give to the poor."
 - anonymous DEA officer

More sources: Los Angeles Times / Michoacan peace march turns into rally for La Familia drug lord, AP / Mexicans march in support of 'Craziest' kingpin.

Another frontier in Wars on Terror and Drugs

The US is currently pressuring a reluctant Afghan government for permission to do aerial spraying of poppy fields.

As heroin exports rise and battlefield successes become rarer, the US intends to start doing what they have been doing in Colombia for years: Carpet bombing the drug crop fields with Monsanto-made glyphosate, Roundup Ultra. What could seem like a win-win strategy has many darker sides to it though.

"Aerial spraying is a bad idea, first because the Afghans have to do the eradication if it is to avoid a backlash from farmers and play into the hands of Taliban propaganda. Western aircraft spraying Afghan fields doesn't look like the government is responsible. There are also bound to be charges that people's health or animals have been affected and there is sure to be collateral damage to legal crops." - European counter-narcotics official in the Telegraph article

Read Telegraph / US officials push to spray Afghan drug crops, thepeoplesvoice.org/ United States to begin Chemical Warfare operations in Afghanistan.

So, how has the Chemical War on Drugs fared in Colombia? Well, most biologically interesting is the appearance of a glyphosate resistant - "Roundup Ready" - variety of the coca bush (source: Wired, Wikipedia)! And yes, there has been reports of health problems in farmer populations and damage to legal crops. One lengthy, thorough and critical look at Plan Colombia is CorpWatch.org's Toxic Drift: Monsanto and the Drug War in Colombia (2001). From that article:

"The twelve indigenous peoples have been suffering under this plague as if it were a government decree to exterminate our culture and our very survival. Our legal crops -- our only sustenance -- manioc, banana, palms, sugar cane, and corn have been fumigated. Our sources of water, creeks, rivers, lakes, have been poisoned, killing our fish and other living things. Today, hunger is our daily bread. In the name of the Amazonian Indigenous people I ask that the fumigations be immediately suspended." - José Francisco Tenorio.

Of course, there is also a lot of information on Wikipedia: see entries Plan Colombia and Coca eradication.

A short, short summary is billions of tax payer's money have been spent, wide stretches of Colombian biosphere scorched, coca production is up, cocaine prices are down and abuse on the rise, the civil war is still raging and the Monsanto stock price is up and climbing. Of course, each of these results have been influenced by numerous factors, not just Roundup. But personally I fail to see the big success worth copying.