Peru’s War on Drugs

• published: 15 Apr 2015
• views: 1167

Despite the United Nations confirming in 2013 that Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world's top coca and cocaine producer, the country’s place atop the drug supply chain has — at least so far — not included the levels of violence seen in Colombia, Mexico, and other international narcotics hubs. The frontlines of Peru’s war on cocaine are restricted to remote coca-producing basins, where drug laboratories and illegal landing strips are abundant. But the government’s campaign of crop eradication and efforts to destroy narco runways risk further igniting a larger social conflict, alienating the coca farmers whose livelihoods depend on growing the illicit crop. VICE News traveled to the heart of Peru’s coca-producing region to witness how the government is waging a war on drugs with the aim of putting an early end to its reign as the world’s new king of cocaine. Watch “The New King of Coke” - http://bit.ly/1zchU6u Watch “Cocaine and Faith in the Amazon” - http://bit.ly/1GM7wEr Read "Sacred Cocaine: Inside the Peruvian Sect Accused of Growing Coca in the Amazon” - http://bit.ly/1GGRfRe Subscribe to VICE News here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News Check out VICE News for more: http://vicenews.com Follow VICE News here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicenews Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicenews Tumblr: http://vicenews.tumblr.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/vicenews More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideos