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Hundreds of videos posted on TikTok by young Colombians document cocaine being produced in the South American country, from the fields where coca grows to the labs where the leaves are transformed into the drug. Colombia is the largest global producer of both coca and cocaine. One of these TikTokers told the FRANCE 24 Observers team that many locals are reliant on coca production to make a living but that the sector continues to be controlled by illegal drug traffickers.
Two-thirds of coca plantations worldwide are found in Colombia, according to the UN – far ahead of the next two countries on the list, Peru and Bolivia. In 2020, an estimated 143,000 hectares of Colombian land was covered with coca fields.
Coca leaves play an important role in Andean culture, primarily because of their powerful qualities as a stimulant. But Colombia is also the leading global producer of cocaine, a highly addictive drug made from these leaves. According to the UN, 1,228 tonnes of cocaine were produced in the country in 2020, most of it sent to North America or Europe.
Producing coca and cocaine in the country is banned, but that does not stop many young Colombians from posting videos on TikTok showing their work in the sector. Some of these videos have garnered thousands of views. We’ve shared a number of these videos in this article, but deleted the names of the TikTok accounts that shared them to protect the safety of those…
Source : france24
