Vanguard | January 05, 2006 | 7 comments

Fighting the FARC

Adam_Yamaguchi

watch more vanguard

Adam Yamaguchi travels to one of the most dangerous areas in Colombia to see how the U.S. and Colombian governments are waging the war on drugs and the guerrilla groups that control the drug trade.
  1. groups:
    On Current TV,   Intro,   Citizen Journalism,   Outro,   4 more
  2. tags:
    On Current TV,  Intro,  Outro,  Citizen Journalism,  7 more
  3. credits:
    Adam_Yamaguchi Starring, Peter Kim Editor
  4.     
    |
    Embed video:
    |

7 comments // Fighting the FARC // Video

  • ablindeye
  • radiohead
    • 0
      radiohead  

    • I agree with ablindeye! Prohibition does not work. It didn't work for alcohol, people are starting to realize it's not working for pot, the same is true for any other drug. As long as there are people, some will want to use drugs. It's the same people who want to take away a woman's right to choose who want to tell people that they are evil for doing drugs.

      Legalize the drugs and the whole system collapses! Cocoa farmers can get paid a fair price, the product can get taxed and will be safe from tampering. There can be rules on who can buy to keep kids off it. Drug dealers and users won't be getting killed or put in jail.

      Give people the choice and realize that you can't take away their freedom!

    • 3 years ago
  • ablindeye
    • 0
      ablindeye  

    • Thank you Adam for taking the risks to get this much of the story, however, I have to mention that even though the majority of your reports are very objective, this one reminds me of the "embedded reporters" from the mainstream during the whole of the Iraq war.
      Here is a link to a documentary about the history of Plan Colombia
      http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8209584922518474909

      Why does everyone forget history? The elements of drugs, "terrorists", atrocities against the poor...Our CIA and industrial military complex has armed and funded both sides of these types of conflicts for decades...Why should we expect it to be any different here? Examples? Iran-Contra, Al Queda, Hussein? Either of those ring any bells?

      Solutions? Legalize the drugs...and piss off ALL the profiteering warmongers.

      Even just adding some interesting facts from the CIAs own fact book could've added a little more objectivity to this report.
      https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/co.html
      "Government type: executive branch dominates government structure"
      49% equaling over 21 million people living below the poverty line?!

      Here is an interesting article from Human Rights Watch...
      http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/12/18/colomb17685.htm

    • 3 years ago
  • LuchoPortugallo
    • 0
      LuchoPortugallo  

    • I am dying to watch this and spread it around my colombian counterparts, but why is it so difficult to watch the clip??? I dont have a TV and dont want ever again to own one. Why cant you post the video here, just as youtube or google video does? Or post them there and link to it from here. I am not far behind the "digital divide", I live in seattle years ago, and am constantly looking for info of this kind. Please make it easy for others to watch what you''ve risked your life for, Adam. And THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for doing so.

    • 5 years ago
  • XIOMARA
    • 0
      XIOMARA  

    • Adam yamaguchi

      I did watch your video. I was really surprise you made it to San Jose del Guaviare. I?m Colombian and I have never been there. It?s too dangerous. I was happy to see my country but also a little disappointment with the information you presented. Looks like you used superficial facts. Plan Colombia was a project that was presented Colombian government years a go, passed this project was something that took many years of work from the United States to get accepted in Colombia. Most of the population doesn?t agree with it. Why? Because this Plan doesn?t just fights drug production, also allows base station and foreign interventions at all times in this country. The base of the fight are fumigation with ?Glifosato? , which it?s the chemical they spray. Which as you said kills other vegetation, but also life, and people who lives in this areas have the risk to get diseases such as cancer. Their kids already have problems with growth development and the water it?s contaminated. AND NO ONE CARES. Until now no changes have being made. Some congressman have fight to try to research for a alternative chemical. Until now Plan Colombia doesn?t allow to use any other chemical and the government has not implement a different method. I don?t know if you know Colombia has a centralize government, reason why these areas are totally undeveloped. No good electrical system, technology, as you experimented no Highways. And Plan Colombia doesn?t invest in any of these resources, which means the people don?t have anything. The unemployment rate it?s huge.
      I felt you miss a lot important points about the coca growth and the awful effects for this population of the way until now it?s being eradicated. Coca growth it?s an addiction in itself for this people because it?s the only way to raise a family in a far town where the people it?s turn between guerrillas and the para-army. And where it?s not economical development at all and it?s no plans to expand any electricity lines or anything. Thank you!

    • 5 years ago
  • Adam_Yamaguchi
    • 0
      Adam_Yamaguchi  

    • This was the result of weeks of planning and several days of waiting in Bogota, Colombia, for the Colombian antinarcotics police to fly us into one of the more dangerous, FARC-controlled provinces. Walking through the little riverside village just felt creepy. Just days before we'd arrived, it was a real town with real people, then completely abandoned under guerilla force.

    • 4 years ago
  • spuglisi

top videos