This is popular front, a podcast focused on the niche details of modern warfare and

underreported conflict with me Jake Hanrahan.

Today we're speaking to journalist Toby Muse.

He's going to be telling us about the rise of the new cocaine militias in Colombia,

how the peace deal is basically falling apart, and why many of the FARC have

decided to actually go back to war against the state, despite the peace process to stop the

conflict only being four years old.

Toby has a great book out at the moment about all of this is called Kilo.

No, this is not an advert. It's genuinely a very good book. I've've read it do have a look for it

If you like what we're doing here at Popular Front please do consider supporting us at

Patreon.com slash Popular Front or you can go to Popular Front. Or you can go to Popular Front.

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All right, so I think the first thing we should do before we get into the cocaine

militias, the FARC, all of that is maybe you can explain how did Columbia become the capital of the cocaine trade if you like?

Yeah well essentially so you start with the coca bush right this kind of very bland

plain-looking coca bush that is grown in the northern Andes.

So the indigenous across that region, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, have been using this for hundreds and

hundreds of years to chew on the coca paste.

They activate the alkaloids in the coca leaf, sorry they chew on the coca leaves.

They activate the coca, the alkaloids, with a kind of line that activates it. Now what it does is so you

hear these Spanish conquistadores getting to the region and they're reporting

that the indigenous chew this coca it suppresses hunger and it kind of makes them be able to march and work longer,

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