The weather conditions and fertile soils make the territory especially suitable for this declared illicit crop. The remote location, the difficult access of the region and the close border with Venezuela provide some security to the armed groups. "Catatumbo is a paradise to produce coca because of its geostrategic region," said a state official in northern Santander. But in addition to the high amount of coca crops, Catatumbo is one of the most violent border regions on the continent due to the competition for territory established between the different armed groups. Gustavo Petro, who seeks to resolve the conflict in the area, has launched the ambitious "total peace" project, which seeks to dialogue with various armed and criminal groups that are still active in the country with the aim of removing them from the scene and recovering the regions.
After more than half a century of conflict, the high south africa phone number list hopes that the Catatumberas communities had in the 2016 peace agreement quickly faded as the Colombian state did not fill the power vacuum left by the different FARC fronts when they abandoned the territory. . Between 2018 and 2022, the government of Iván Duque desisted from implementing key aspects of the peace treaty. As a consequence, various non-state armed groups, some already present in the territory, and the FARC dissidences that never accepted the peace process or opted to rearm, occupied that space and began to fight for control of the income from the land. Conflict and the environment The struggles to control Catatumbo and the disputes between the illicit economies to finance the wars in the region have left their environmental footprint.
However, the role of legal economies has not been minor in the deterioration of the environment in the area. Coal extraction, African palm cultivation, and livestock practices have developed in direct relation to the conflict, while businessmen have been forced to pay extortion fees to armed actors. Several sectors also benefited from conflict dynamics and have been able to settle and expand thanks to the forced displacement of people during times of extreme violence.