Columbia Hot Spot For Conflict Gold

That's due to the effort of paramilitary groups and the FARC guerilla movement, who are beginning to co-operate. As cocaine get cracked down on by the Columbian government, warlords are moving into gold production. Typically, they either operate the gold mines or demand extortion money from miners. FARC especially is becoming sophisticated with extortion, setting a payoff schedule with different demands for different minign activities.

The result is a gold rush unlike any now under way in South America, both feeding off Colombia’s evolving conflict and keeping it alive. Up and down the sweltering river basins around Medellín, miners from across Colombia are flocking to sites where backhoes are tearing up forest and tree canopies, leaving behind lunaresque landscapes.

Some of these small mines have existed for decades, echoes of frenzies that stretch back centuries to the plundering by conquistadors in search of fabled gold deposits. Newer mines emerge on almost a weekly basis, reflecting efforts to find gold while its price remains high.

One coca farmer turned miner said illegal mining is the only way for him to turn a decent buck. Unlike cocaine, gold is a legal product.