[trickling, tapping]
It's all exactly the same as what I've seen in the past,
but on a slightly smaller scale.
In this type of scenario, I'd have probably been kicking that door in
if we'd had the right intelligence.
[chuckles] Telling them to get on the floor.
Now, I'm best mates. [chuckles]
[narrator] I'm Jason Fox.
I spent ten years in the Special Forces
where I hunted down druglords in Afghanistan.
Yeah, these are good. These are what we used.
[Fox] Now, I'm going to Latin America...
Hola.
...the dark heart of the global drugs trade.
We're going into the barrio now.
-[Fox] One of them's got a shooter. -[man in Spanish] Quickly, quickly, go!
This time, I'll be travelling unarmed...
-[in Spanish] A car is coming! -[in Spanish] Get in, get in!
[Fox] Come on, yeah.
...to try to understand them from the inside.
[in Spanish] You've got guns, pretty girls, bikes.
[mimics motorbike revving]
[in Spanish] You have to harvest coca. [hisses]
[in Spanish] There's no other good work here.
Starting in Mexico, I'll make contact with the Fed Cartels.
More powerful than the state.
[in Spanish] I'm a hitman by trade.
In Peru, I'll meet the producers at the bottom of the supply chain.
Thanks to this, we educate our children.
And in Colombia,
I see how the legacy of Pablo Escobar still runs deep.
[in Spanish] For us, he wasn't a boss, he was a god.
This is a world where violence is a way of life.
[in Spanish] I have killed 257 people with my own hands.
Like this and this.
[in Spanish] If you do something stupid, you'll be fucked.
And the criminals are the ones in charge.
If we were here without your permission, what would you do with us?
[in Spanish] A gringo or a whitey...
[narrating] I'm in Peru on the final leg of my journey across Latin America.
This is one of the world's biggest cocaine producers,
much of which ends up in the UK.
I want to see what life is like
for those at the bottom of the supply chain,
growing and processing the drug
before the cartels traffic it around the world.
-[man] Hi. -Hey, mate, how's it going?
-[man] How are you? -I'm good.
-Nice to meet you. -You're all right, mate?
-Welcome to Peru. -Good to see you.
[narrating] Luciano is a local journalist.
And he's taking me to an area
where almost all the cocaine in Peru comes from.
The VRAEM is a treacherous valley in the Andes Mountains.
About the size of Ireland,
the narcos have turned it into a lawless place.
Outsiders aren't welcome.
[Fox] So, Luciano, I'm assuming that some of the threats to us
could be ambush, kidnap...
The other main risk is when being with the narcos,
if their competitors or their neighbours get to see us,
and if they called the whole population,
the whole town, meaning having 40, 50 or a hundred people around us,
-that is going to be big troubles. -Yeah.
Because they can kidnap and then they can apply
what they call "popular justice."
So they decide what to do with us, basically.
[Luciano] Communities here, they don't believe much on the government.
And you'll see why when we get there.
[Fox narrating] But the danger isn't just from the drug gangs.
The route into the valley takes us down
some of the most perilous roads in the world.
These mountains create a natural fortress for the cocaine producers.
Looks like we might be in a landslide or something.
[man speaking Spanish]
[Luciano in Spanish] I'm not sure if we can get past.
[Fox] There's been a landslide, does it looks like?
[Luciano in Spanish] What's happened?
[man in Spanish] The truck's broken down.
[Fox] The shittiest place to break down. [chuckles]
[Luciano in English] Yeah, totally.
[man speaking Spanish]
[Fox] This lump here, it looks like it's chiselled away anyway.
If that goes, then, say, the back of the vehicle's on it,
one of the rear tires and it loses itself
and we're gonna end up falling down the fucking cliff, aren't we?
[Luciano] Do you know this happens all the time?
It happened a week ago. A truck like this, with beer fell down.
Problem is we gotta get down before we lose any more light.
[Luciano] If it's dangerous during daytime,
-imagine how it would be at night. -[Fox] Yeah, yeah.
[Luciano] A bit-- a bit more here.
Careful.
[Luciano] Okay, you can stop now.
[Fox narrating] In the last 20 years, cocaine production in Peru has exploded.
As America spent billions of dollars trying to shut down Pablo Escobar,
and the Colombian cartels, Peru stepped in and supplied the demand.
The VRAEM now single-handedly produces
over 20 billion pounds' worth of cocaine every year.
That's more than the annual income of Facebook.
After six hours, we're finally entering the valley.
We're getting into Machente. It's a checkpoint for the police.
Is this the only checkpoint in and out of the valley?
Yes, this is the only one.
And if you look, they usually check more the cars that are going out.
So this is pretty normal, you know.
They look for almost every car that goes out.
Huge amount of cocaine comes out of VRAEM.
I mean, the guy there with the car, he looked quite thorough.
It's quite a heavily-manned checkpoint.
On the other side of this checkpoint live around half a million people.
Most of them earn their living in some way from cocaine production.
-[Fox] Where are we now? -We're heading to San Francisco.
-This is San Francisco? -Yep.
It's a lot different from the last time I went to a place called San Francisco.
[Luciano] This is the bridge.
[Fox] This is like their Golden Gate Bridge.
San Francisco is the narcos' stronghold in the valley.
We're going to base ourselves here.
-This is it. -[in Spanish] Hello. Good evening.
Hotel looks good, mate, thanks. How about the sofa?
[Fox] Takes me back to staying at my nan's.
But my nan's house doesn't have signs like this--
[Fox] No, no weapons allowed.
Fortunately, I didn't bring one.
[chuckles] Didn't even need a light on, innit?
They deliberately see me off with the worst room.
-Take a look at the view. -[sighs]
[Fox narrating] Considering its key role in the global drugs trade,
San Francisco feels surprisingly poor.
I've not seen any lavish homes or signs of wealth.
Yet the town is completely surrounded by its chief export,
the coca plant, the key ingredient in cocaine.
Everywhere you look, there are massive plantations.
The plant is legal to grow in Peru and is used in many traditional medicines.
But processing the leaves to make cocaine is a crime
so the narcos hide their labs deep in the jungle.
I want to see how so much cocaine gets out of the valley
despite military checkpoints and impossible roads.
Okay, so it's 5:00 to 3:00 in the morning.
We're getting ready to basically head off for about 45, 50-minute drive
and we've been instructed that we've got to wear all black.
All this to just basically detract away the attention
by going up into the area which is really dangerous.
[narrating] Luciano has heard from a contact that tonight,
there would be a large shipment of cocaine being smuggled out.
Moving the drugs is the most dangerous part of the operation.
It's done by locals that know the terrain and who are willing to risk their lives.
The amount of cocaine that these guys are carrying
is enough to set them down for a long time.
It's in the region of between one and three million pounds.
Street value.
[driver in Spanish] Two minutes.
-[Fox in Spanish] Two minutes? -Yes.
Our driver is being guided to the meeting point by the smugglers
but they're worried we might be spotted by rival gangs.
-[smuggler on radio] Hello. -[in Spanish] Crossing the meeting point.
[smuggler] It will be better if you come past slowly.
[driver murmuring]
[Fox] Anyone driving at night around here could be a threat.
-[Luciano speaking Spanish] -[driver] A car is coming.
-Here's the car. -[Luciano] How shall we get out?
[driver chuckles] Don't look at them.
[Luciano in English] Okay, are you ready, guys? Let's go.
[driver in Spanish] A car is coming.
-Get in, get in. -[Fox] Wait, wait, wait.
-Get in. -[in Spanish] Quickly.
[Fox] Let's just get off this fucking road.
Make sure you've got your kit then we're fucking going.
[Luciano in English] Okay, let's go.
We're told the traffickers are going to meet us at an abandoned shack.
-[Luciano] This is the place. -[Fox] This is the casa?
[Luciano] This is the casa.
[in Spanish] Are you coming or not? Are you coming?
Okay, we'll wait for you.
[inhales]
[Fox] Here's some guys coming out now.
One of them has got a shooter.
They trust that fucking shooter.
-Buenos dias. -[Fox] Hey, buenos dias. All right.
The man in charge tells us to call him Paco
He's a local cocaine chef. He makes batches of the drug himself.
[Fox] Paco, how much have we got here?
-[Paco in Spanish] Eighteen kilos. -[Luciano in English] Eighteen KG.
[Fox] If you get caught with this, what is the sentence?
-[Paco] Fifteen years. -Fucking hell.
That's a big risk, big risk.
[Fox] That's a kilogram brick right there.
Uh, it's been wrapped up. I think this is his logo.
Trademark is placed.
Tonight these backpackers known as "mochileros"
will carry pack of cocaine on foot through the jungle and out of the valley.
How did you get into becoming a mochilero?
We are doing it to support our families.
There's no help from the government
and we're poor.
This helps us to feed our families.
Mm-hmm. How does your family feel about you doing this?
My family doesn't know. I don't want to worry my children.
[Fox] What do they think you do?
[Paco] They just think I work at a farm.
And what else do you think you like to do if you could?
A builder.
I'm interested in... is there a little bit of you that enjoys doing this?
Do you feel... get excitement from it sometimes?
-[Paco] No. -Not one bit?
[Paco] We are always at risk, this work isn't safe.
-Mmm. -I've seen too many things.
The job that I used to do has some fucking enormous risks
but I did actually enjoy it and I got something out of it.
And I thought there might be a little bit of that here
that's why I asked that question. But there isn't,
unless he's deciding not to tell us.
But I don't know,
there's just not one ounce of satisfaction in it at all.
No adrenaline, just fear.
We got some fish, normal food, snacks, some fluid to take on,
but also, the interesting thing is that they've paracetamol
just so they can tide themselves over if they get feverish on the way.
[Fox] Where's that fucking shooter?
They trust that fucking shooter hanging around.
This is us, here we go. Everybody in? Let's go.
The mochileros now face a 60-mile trek over mountainous terrain.
They've allowed me to walk with them for the first few.
Tonight, hundreds of them will be making similar journeys.
Their backpacks heading for clandestine airstrips
all over the VRAEM.
We're actually passing through a coca plantation as well on the slope here.
I see the stuff everywhere.
If it's not in your backpack, it's what you're walking through.
Obviously not in my backpack.
I've worked in the jungle quite a bit.
As a rule, you don't normally move at night in the jungle
because it's just too dark, too dangerous.
Normally, hunker down and lie out for the night, get in your hammocks.
And all the work that you do in the military
in the jungle is done in the day.
There are exceptions.
And to be honest, these guys have no other option really, so...
Circumstances dictate a night move.
[narrating] The ridgeline is as far as I can go with them.
Beyond it, the chances of being ambushed by rival gangs is too great.
-Goodbye. -Bye.
Goodbye.
-Ciao. -All this for just 150 pounds each.
Growing coca in Peru is legal
because the plant does have legitimate uses
and it's always been part of the culture.
For many Peruvians, the leaf is sacred and connects them to their Inca ancestors.
[crowd chanting]
When the government recently threatened
to eradicate the coca plantations,
there was outrage.
[in Spanish] I'll fight with this
and if they take it from me, I'll grab a rock.
If they take the rock, I'll fight with my hands.
If they fight with my hands then with my teeth.
If they take my life, my spirit will always speak for the coca leaf.
I'm heading to a coca leaf plantation.
The owners, like most farmers in the valley,
depend on the money this crop brings in.
[Luciano] Foxy, you have the pull over here.
[Luciano] There is a--
-Como están? Buenos dias. -Buenos dias.
-Buenos dias, como están? -Como estas?
[Fox] Nice to see you.
Anjelica and her brother Juan inherited their plantation from their parents
and provide work for 30 locals.
[in Spanish] You have to harvest coca. [hissing]
You want me to work for you?
-[in Spanish] Yes, lots. -Will you teach me to be a coca farmer?
I need paying. [chuckles]
-[in Spanish] We pay little. -[both laugh]
-Okay then, how do we do it? -[in Spanish] Harvesting
-is done like this. -[Anjelica in Spanish] He's doing it.
[Fox] No further instruction needed.
You obviously pick it up and you're off.
Pretty much done that one.
[Fox] So, what times of the year can you harvest it?
[in Spanish] All year, every three months.
Whilst with coffee, it's just once a year and the price of coffee is falling.
So you are better off as a farmer to farm coca?
Yes, I earn much more money.
Ninety percent of this crop and the whole of VRAEM goes for cocaine production.
We can't hide from that.
What would your lives be like
if you didn't sell coca to the cocaine trade?
Forgive me for being so frank, but this valley would be in chaos.
The profits enable us to send our children to school.
We wouldn't be able to do that if we only relied on other crops.
Eighty percent of the people here would have to leave
and find other ways to make a living.
[Fox] The government-- if the cocaine trade wasn't here,
then they would have to support this area themselves.
Do you know what I mean?
So the cocaine trade's doing them a favour.
It's like one less area they have to pump money into.
Look how poor this fella is, anyway.
They're not rolling around in Bentleys and what have you, are they?
Considering they're in the cocaine trade.
[Fox] And we're done.
[in Spanish] So-so...
[Anjelica in Spanish] I'd like you to stay here with me and harvest coca every day.
[laughing]
[in Spanish] If you worked here every day, your skin would be damaged.
Our hands are hard, tough like this.
But yours...
like a little girl's.
[Juan continues] We have a remedy--
you put urine on them
and then your hand is always used to it.
[chuckles]
[narrating] Juan and Anjelica seem like hardworking decent people.
But they are knowingly fuelling the cocaine business.
Back in San Francisco,
I'm getting the sense that people are starting to notice us.
[Fox] This whole area is people I've heard
directly or indirectly involved in the cocaine trade,
so they're very aware of outsiders coming in
and they don’t particularly like us, which is understandable.
But also-- I mean, I keep looking out the window,
I keep seeing people clock us then perhaps getting on the phones.
Could be completely innocent but it could also mean
that they're paying attention to what we are and what we're doing.
[Fox] We should start loading up about the same time.
[Luciano] Everything's in.
Luciano has heard that Paco,
the cocaine chef I met before, is making a new batch.
He's agreed to show us the conditions in which he has to work to survive.
We're basically putting our lives in the hands of people
that essentially move in a very dark world.
It's quite exciting. Takes me back a little bit,
reminds me of going out on missions before, although slightly different.
There's a few bits of kit I miss that I normally have.
We're just on the last part of the route in now,
which is, um, less than comfortable.
Literally, we're heading into the middle of nowhere--
actually, into the sort of Peruvian jungle.
[Fox] Everyone's phones are on silent, yeah?
[Luciano] Yeah.
[Fox] This is Paco and his assistant.
[speaking Spanish]
They're making cocaine, a crime which could get them ten years in jail.
The process starts with crudely distilled coca paste,
which they bought from local producers.
-[Fox] Can I pick one up? -[Paco] Yes.
[Fox] It's like chalk, but wet chalk.
And this is what's known as base, is that right?
[man] Yes, sir. That's the basuco.
[Paco in Spanish] Uh-huh. It's basic paste, but milled.
-[Fox] And what's this? -[Paco in English] Alcohol.
I like the heart-shaped bowl. Made with love.
[in Spanish] With love from Peru.
[Fox narrating] Now, Paco has to remove the impurities to produce pure cocaine.
It's a complex, laborious process,
which will take about eight hours of hard work.
Paco, what is it you're now doing?
[in Spanish] We're using the press to take out the impurities.
[handle clicking]
[speaking in Spanish]
It's all exactly the same as what I've seen in the past
-but on a slightly smaller scale. -[Paco] Uh-huh.
The presses I've seen, massive, massive presses.
They're obviously a little worried about being found out, discovered,
so they keep it on a smaller scale.
Whereas out in Afghan, they had-- they pretty much had the lay of the land
and sort of free rein to manoeuvre so they would make it en masse.
In this type of scenario, I'd have probably been kicking that door in
if we'd had the right intelligence.
Telling them to get on the fucking floor.
Now, I'm best mates. [chuckles]
[rumbling in distance]
[Fox narrating] Fearing they'll be discovered,
Paco and his assistant are constantly on edge.
Every time there's a noise, they rush outside to take a look.
Four hours in and now comes the most dangerous part.
[speaking in Spanish]
Paco heats up sulfuric acid to speed up the process.
[hissing]
...but he overdoes it.
[in Spanish] Open the door.
It's horrendous. [coughs]
[coughs]
[Fox narrating] Being forced outside, we could be spotted.
But the fumes are too much to stay in the lab.
[tapping]
[Fox] How long have you been doing this job?
[Paco in Spanish] Almost six years.
I want to have my own business.
So I'm saving up to open a hardware shop.
[Fox] So, uh, how did you become a cocaine chef?
[Paco] One day, I started doing this because I got a woman pregnant.
We needed the money.
[Fox] Does she know that you are a cocaine chef?
Yes, she does.
As long as I bring money to the house, she doesn't mind.
[Fox] Imagine, um, your child is growing up in the valley,
and they decided to do the same job that you were doing,
-would you recommend that? -[Paco] No.
[in Spanish] Because this work has bad consequences as well as good.
It's psychologically damaging.
You're worried about the police and thieves.
You don't know when you might be killed or when you'll end up in jail.
[Fox narrating] And, finally, they measure out a kilo brick of cocaine,
ready to smuggle out of the valley.
[Fox] How pure is that?
[in Spanish] Ninety-five percent pure.
How much profit do you make on this brick?
[in Spanish] Five hundred Soles.
-[Luciano] Which is $150. -Mmm.
[Fox narrating] Paco may be content with what he earns,
but it's a pittance compared to its street value.
In the UK, this brick would be worth a thousand times as much.
[faint clattering]
Suddenly, we can hear people approaching outside.
-[birds chirping] -[dog barking]
[in Spanish] Down over there are three people
who are police informers.
Around here,
people don't look like you
and whoever might see you can get the whole village to rise against you.
[rustling]
[Fox narrating] Luciano decides we need to leave immediately.
We probably legged it at about 100 metres, 200 metres,
bundled everything in the back along with us,
and then we just hightailing out of there before anyone notices,
'cause if we get pinned in this area by any of the locals
and us gringos aren't welcome,
we'd probably end up getting our, the minimum, getting our heads kicked in.
[Luciano] Oh, all right.
Almost there.
[Jason sighs]
[sighs]
[Fox] I mean, that was surprising.
He's essentially been doing it for six years.
I don't think he's that old.
And as with people that we've met today in Peru,
there's nothing else that allows them to make enough money to supply for family,
put a roof over head, pay bills,
you know, do all the stuff that we all worry about.
But he doesn't make a lot of money out of it, either.
The mark-up, the profit margin is ridiculous
compared to the risk involved. It's just outrageous.
I mean, we've spent the whole day, the whole night, being on edge
and he does that day in and day out. Night in, night out.
It's mad.
[Fox sighs]
-[Luciano chatting indistinctly] -[Fox] Good! Cerveza.
[Fox narrating] Just a few miles from Paco's lab,
the valley is celebrating the sacred traditions of the coca leaf.
The communities in the VRAEM have been dependent on the coca leaf
for thousands of years.
[traditional Peruvian music playing]
Cocaine is in relatively recent use.
[singing]
[Fox] Hey, what's all this about?
She's singing to coca leaf.
Not only to coca leaf but to everything that coca leaf represents.
She's also singing about how coca leaf has been criminalized.
[Fox] Oh, all right. Okay.
And she's asking the authorities on this song
to defend and protect the coca leaf.
[singing]
So, they're basically honouring the coca leaf and all it stands for.
They've used it for, especially, to get more strength.
You know, they chew the coca leaf
so they have more strength to work on their farms, on their crops.
But also made, um, use the coca leaf for religion.
So, this is the message of this festival, that coca leaf is not a drug.
[Fox narrating] There are many legal products on sale here
that use the coca leaf.
From teas to painkillers.
It's even supposed to be a good cure for altitude sickness.
[vendor speaking Spanish]
-[Luciano in Spanish] That's for hair? -[man] Yes, coca shampoo.
It works! [laughs]
-[Luciano] Is it too late for me? -[laughs]
-[Luciano] Only one. -[Fox] What is it? Cocaine cookie?
-No, coca cookies. -Coca cookies. You know what I meant.
[laughs]
-[Luciano in Spanish] Thank you. -[Fox] Cheers.
[Luciano] Cheers to coca leaf.
[in English] I wonder how, uh, how it would be to be drunk with this beer.
Do you wanna find it out?
[both laugh]
[Fox narrating] As the days pass,
it seems the narcos have this region to themselves.
There's little evidence of law enforcement.
So, I want to find out what it's like to police this valley.
I'm heading to a base just outside San Francisco.
[Luciano] Where that white car is, turn to the left.
There is the entrance in here.
[Luciano, soldier speaking Spanish]
[in Spanish] Jason, nice to meet you.
-I'm Colonel Colmenares. -Very nice to meet you.
[in Spanish] I'm boss of the Anti-drugs Special Operations Division
of Palmapampa, VRAEM. Welcome.
I'd just like to say thanks for having me. Thanks for having us along.
I'm looking forward to spending some time with you guys
and getting out on the ground as well.
[in Spanish] It's great to have you here
to show you the work that the National Police do
against the narcos in this part of the VRAEM.
Here, we are able to pray to God.
-[Fox] Before going out? -[colonel in Spanish] Yes.
-This is the weapons store.
-Armory. -Yes.
-Monaya. Jason Foxy. -[in Spanish] Good morning.
[Fox] Hey. Nice meeting you.
[colonel in Spanish] He was in the English Special Forces.
[Fox] M4.
Yeah, these are good. These are what we used.
Pretty comfortable with it.
Because I've been using it so often. [in Spanish] Thank you.
-[Fox] G3? -[colonel] G3.
-Yeah. -[colonel] G3.
Yeah, used these before. I used to use them from helicopters.
Oh, baton! To...
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. -[colonel speaking Spanish]
[Fox] That's a 40-mil grenade.
It goes... [whistles]
Looks like something else.
[Fox narrating] The colonel is keen to impress
but many of his men are young and inexperienced.
[gunshots pop]
[in Spanish] We are currently reduced to ten men and me.
We just had a shootout with the narcoterrorists.
They've all fully recovered now and they're gonna be coming back soon?
[in Spanish] We are in constant contact with them.
When they are 100 percent recovered, they will join us again
-and take part in our operations. -[Fox] Cool.
[in Spanish] Foxy, we know you were in the Special Forces
and we would like you to have a go.
[sighs] Yeah, I'll go in.
-[speaking Spanish] -How many we got?
How many?
[speaking Spanish]
-[soldier] Twelve. -Twelve. Okay.
Okay.
[Fox narrating] By the time I first saw active combat,
I'd had nine years in the military.
Most of these guys have only basic training
and two months' preparation for combat.
[soldier speaking Spanish] Yeah.
He needs some dentures.
[in Spanish] These are the shots from your rifle.
[Fox] I should've hit it from there, anyway. But, yeah.
[in Spanish] Well done. That muscle memory always stays with you
and that was classic Special Forces.
[laughs, in Spanish] Thank you.
[in Spanish] We'll be split into Team Alpha,
Team Bravo and Team Charlie.
[leader continues in Spanish] Team Alpha will be the assault group...
[Fox narrating] The unit has just received a tipoff
about a cocaine lab in a remote location.
[helicopter rotors whirring]
Our ride, a Huey on loan from the US Air Force,
similar to what was used in Vietnam.
The plan, to fly 32 heavily-armed police
in three assault helicopters to destroy a single lab.
This is a massive strike force,
considering our target is probably just a few guys like Paco and his assistant.
Our landing site, a coca leaf plantation.
There's a bit of an air of, "What the fuck next?"
-There's no... -[man] We don't know what's behind it.
No, I mean, theoretically, I'd have these blokes shaken out,
basically, covering all our ass.
So, it would be a shitload of blokes...
I'd push them into the under-growth as well.
There's no point in looking into that if you can't see anything.
And then once you're in the under-growth, you can start looking through it.
And you've got no one fucking covering our ass.
[Fox] I think that we're slightly...
there's a distinct lack of an urgency.
-Hey, Foxy. -[Fox] Yeah?
Shall we go...
[in Spanish] There is a maceration lab in that direction.
Let's go.
A bit too bunched up for my liking.
[man] I notice you're pausing quite a lot.
I just...
As you move through close under-growth, you should close up,
and then across that wide-open space, you should be spread out apart.
If you close up, someone with a machine gun... take you out in two seconds.
[Fox narrating] We finally reach our destination.
A processing pit, where coca leaves are turned into cocaine paste.
There we go. There's a working maceration pit.
Obviously, not working now 'cause they've all buggered off, but...
they were still doing the business. There's all coca leaves in there.
You can smell the gasoline.
You can smell the chemicals that they used.
[colonel speaking Spanish]
People do live here, and it hasn't long been, sort of, vacated.
You got, you know, loads of different things.
You got batteries for a little bit of power.
Light there tells us that they work at night.
So they're workin' all the time, 24 hours a day.
So, I mean, yeah. I mean, you can just look around,
you can see there's signs of life. There's just no life here.
Hey, do you wanna see some more signs of life?
Or maybe a pair of pants?
It's the inside intelligence, telling them where they are.
[in Spanish] Uh, Foxy, this is what's used in the pit.
People chew it.
-Mm-hmm. -[speaking Spanish]
-Uh? -Just a leaf.
-It makes your mouth numb. -Mm-hmm.
[colonel in Spanish] People chew it so they don't get hungry.
-[man speaking Spanish] -[spits]
[men speaking Spanish]
[Fox narrating] It's hard not to feel like this is a bit of a pointless exercise.
Pits like this cover the valley.
Going to all this effort just to destroy one
seems like a token gesture.
This is a show of force by the authorities, I'd say.
When it comes to the war on drugs,
people are more interested in the higher echelons.
This is just a means of hitting the source, causing...
an embuggerance to the traffickers,
and mainly to the farmers that are sort of working these maceration pits.
'Cause all they've gotta do, once this place is gone,
is they'll find another location not dissimilar to this,
there's enough rivers out here.
it's gonna get three or four blokes-- from women, guys, kids,
from Village X-- get them down there, pay them some pittance of cash,
get them to dig another maceration pit, done.
[puffs, crackles]
[Fox narrating] Here in the VRAEM, the narcos and the local communities
rely almost completely on each other to survive.
The police are mostly unwanted visitors,
more often than not, damaging the livelihoods of those
who have little to begin with.
-Come on, then. Let's go. -[Luciano] Okay, now.
Because it's about to blow up. They set the fuses off.
-I think they forgot to tell us that. -[colonel speaking Spanish]
-[Fox] Every man for himself. -[soldier] Yes, yes.
[grunts]
[Fox] Now watch.
[explosion]
[Fox] Heads up. Heads up.
[Fox] Whew!
[Luciano laughs]
[Fox] I think it's a forgotten area. There's no investment.
You know, you go to other places around the country.
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a poor country,
but this is a forgotten-about place.
Almost like-- I mean, I dunno, do they want cocaine to be exported?
Do they wanna be known for that?
I think people here, they see themselves as individuals that--
they haven't got the luxury of choice and they have to do what they have to do.
So, yeah, it's a crime, but they're not criminals.
[Fox narrating During my travels across Latin America,
and the world of the narcos,
I've seen how in Mexico, the cartels are now so powerful,
they control vast areas of the country.
While in Colombia,
the cartels have industrialized the trafficking of drugs across the globe.
Today, more drugs are being produced,
trafficked, and consumed than ever before.
It's become apparent that I think the war on drugs has been fought in the wrong way
and we're ploughing a lot of money
into weapons and armies and navies,
when, actually, the war on drugs is actually, it's a war on poverty,
'cause the people that do all the groundwork
are from poverty-stricken backgrounds.
They've got nothing else going for them.
They've got no other prospects or opportunities
so they just go with what's in front of them
and that's... working for the cartels and the gangs.