The Black Hawk helicopter was ready for take-off – its rotor blades slicing through the air in the deadening heat of the Colombian Amazon. We ducked low and crammed in alongside the Jungle Commandos – a police special operations unit armed by the Americans and originally trained by Britain's SAS, when it was founded in 1989.
The commandos were heavily armed. The mission was familiar. The weather was clear. But there was tension on board, kicking in with the adrenaline. When you go after any part of the drug trade in Colombia, you have to be ready for trouble.
The commandos often face resistance from criminal groups, and current and former guerrillas who have replaced the cartels of the 1970s and 80s.
We took off, flying over the district of Putumayo - close to the border with Ecuador - part of Colombia's cocaine heartland. The country provides about 70% of the world's supply.
Just ahead, two other Black Hawks were leading the way.
Down below us, there was dense forest and patches of bright green – the tell-tale sign of coca plant cultivation. The crop now covers an area nearly twice the size of Greater London, and four times the size of New York, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), published in 2024.
President Donald Trump has criticized Colombia's left-wing President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of not doing enough to combat cocaine trafficking. Conversely, President Petro asserts that his administration has seized record amounts of drugs, although cocaine production remains high. The challenges of the drug war are compounded by economic vulnerabilities faced by local farmers like 'Javier', who feel compelled to grow coca to survive.
The day-to-day operations of the commandos are characterized by repeated missions targeting drug labs, demonstrating the ongoing, continuous nature of the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia.
The commandos were heavily armed. The mission was familiar. The weather was clear. But there was tension on board, kicking in with the adrenaline. When you go after any part of the drug trade in Colombia, you have to be ready for trouble.
The commandos often face resistance from criminal groups, and current and former guerrillas who have replaced the cartels of the 1970s and 80s.
We took off, flying over the district of Putumayo - close to the border with Ecuador - part of Colombia's cocaine heartland. The country provides about 70% of the world's supply.
Just ahead, two other Black Hawks were leading the way.
Down below us, there was dense forest and patches of bright green – the tell-tale sign of coca plant cultivation. The crop now covers an area nearly twice the size of Greater London, and four times the size of New York, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), published in 2024.
President Donald Trump has criticized Colombia's left-wing President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of not doing enough to combat cocaine trafficking. Conversely, President Petro asserts that his administration has seized record amounts of drugs, although cocaine production remains high. The challenges of the drug war are compounded by economic vulnerabilities faced by local farmers like 'Javier', who feel compelled to grow coca to survive.
The day-to-day operations of the commandos are characterized by repeated missions targeting drug labs, demonstrating the ongoing, continuous nature of the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia.
