Colombia's Ongoing Struggle

Illegal oil refining operations in Colombia are contributing to the cocaine trade, and a specialized police force is actively targeting and dismantling these labs. These illicit labs, operated by locals who steal crude oil from nearby pipelines, convert it into low-quality gasoline, which is a crucial ingredient in the production of cocaine. Despite Colombia's longstanding War on Drugs, the country remains the top global producer of cocaine. The government is now intensifying its efforts to combat all stages of the cocaine production process, including targeting illegal oil refineries. However, the locals involved in these illegal industries take significant risks, and the Colombian police face numerous dangers during raids.

Jorge Moreno leads a team of around 40 officers who have been dispatched from Cali for a mission. They are joined by nearly 200 soldiers from the Colombian armed forces. Gathering at the Oriente police station near the coastal city of Tamako, they equip themselves in preparation for potential encounters with criminal gangs and drug cartels. At daybreak, they venture into the jungle.

En route, they make a stop at the Transcendino oil pipeline, much of which is above ground, making it susceptible to drilling and oil theft. Ecopetrol, a company owned mostly by the Colombian government, operates the pipeline, which transports crude oil from the Orito oil field to Tamako for export to the United States. However, the country has been losing over 270,000 barrels annually due to theft, amounting to more than $2 billion in losses. Although no holes are found along this particular stretch on this day, illegal oil refineries are typically located in close proximity to the pipeline.

Months of research and planning have equipped Moreno's team to navigate through this challenging terrain. They utilize a National Police app that alerts them to pressure drops in the pipeline, indicating possible illegal taps. A sight of hoses attached to valves confirms their progress. These hoses enable the thieves to siphon crude oil from the pipeline into pools hidden deep within the jungle.

After walking for over two hours, they finally arrive at a refinery site, which appears to have been recently abandoned. It is suspected that locals in the area tipped off the workers. However, evidence of refined gasoline, known locally as "patigrillo" or Cricket's foot, remains. The surroundings are polluted, with unused crude oil, contaminated land, rivers, and toxic gases released by the refineries, capable of causing harm to the forest's animal life. The destruction caused by a single lab can span three square miles of land. In such dense jungle terrain, helicopter operations to remove the oil are impractical, leaving detonation as the only feasible option for destroying the refinery and the remaining patigrillo.

The burning fuel can create a blaze that lasts for hours, exacerbating pollution concerns. In the previous year, Moreno and his team successfully destroyed 60 labs in a single mission, but hundreds more continue to proliferate in the jungle. Former worker Travel recounts his experience at an illegal refinery in Tamako, where a fire caused severe injuries, leaving him scarred. Lack of safety protocols is a common issue in these labs, where crude oil is heated in a 300-gallon tank, and most of it evaporates into gas, which condenses into low-quality gasoline (patigrillo) in pipes. There is significant demand for patigrillo due to its affordability compared to regular petrol. Travel earned nearly $800 per month selling it, four times the country's minimum wage. His customers primarily consisted of coca farmers who use patigrillo to produce a paste, a base component of cocaine.

Carlos, a coca farmer who has been involved in the trade for 15 years, demonstrates the process of making coca paste, though he must conceal his identity due to the crop's illegal status in Colombia. After pulverizing coca leaves, he soaks them in gasoline or patigrillo, along with water and an alkaline substance. This mixture extracts compounds from the plant necessary for the production of addictive cocaine. Carlos predominantly sells his coca paste to cartels or drug smugglers. Despite attempts to grow other crops like bananas, more than 200,000 families across Colombia depend on coca farming for their livelihoods.

A government-sponsored crop substitution program was introduced in 2016, aiming to incentivize farmers to transition away from coca cultivation. However, a UN report indicates that most of the approximately 100,000 families who enrolled in the program did not receive the full promised payments. Unlike crops such as coffee or plantains, coca can be harvested up to six times a year, and its cultivation has expanded significantly, covering five times more land than during the era of Pablo Escobar.

Colombian cocaine primarily ends up in the United States, where cocaine-related overdoses claimed over 20,000 lives in 2021. Cartel violence in Colombia, particularly in areas like Narino, has also resulted in a significant number of deaths. While some individuals, like Gustavo Pedro, advocate for the legalization of cocaine, the United States, Colombia's main partner in the War on Drugs, does not support such a move. The United States has been a major financial supporter of counter-narcotic operations in Colombia, working together to destroy thousands of drug labs and seize record quantities of cocaine in 2021. However, Moreno acknowledges the challenges involved in permanently eradicating these illegal refineries, as they are easily replaced by new ones. The destructive impact of burning down the labs also poses risks to the delicate ecosystem.