Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro

Overlooking the VRAEM
Map of the Valle del ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro
Active areas of the Shining Path guerillas
A military base in the VRAEM

The Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro ("valley of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro rivers"), also known as the VRAEM or VRAE, is a geopolitical area in Peru.[1] It is one of the major areas of coca-growing in Peru.[2] The area is extremely poor.[2]

The VRAEM is an area of such high childhood malnutrition and poverty that the government of Peru selected the VRAEM to launch its National Strategy for Growth program in 2007.[3]

Cocaine production

Since 2012, Peru has overtaken Colombia as the worlds largest cocaine production country.[4][5] With local incomes below $10/day, and the natives having suffered from the Shining Path rebels, the valleys are used to produce raw paste product.[5][6] With an estimated 19,700 hectares (49,000 acres) of production area (2010), it is presently the world's densest area of cocaine production.[1][6] Paste product is shipped out of the valleys by armed native backpackers to Cuzco,[2][5] and then onward shipped to either: the Pacific Ocean ports; the Bolivian border, where it is sold to one of the drug cartels; or to mule-traffickers who ship the product onwards via scheduled air transport to Europe and North America.[5][6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Slaves of the past". The Economist. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Pressly, Linda (24 November 2015). "The Mochileros". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  3. ↑ "Crecer ya está en el VRAE". Comisión Interministerial de Asuntos Sociales. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  4. ↑ "Part 5. Peru Coca Cultivation Survey" (PDF). Peru Coca Survey for 2005. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/07/world/americas/ap-lt-peru-cocaine-backpackers.html?_r=0. Retrieved November 24, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. 1 2 3 Collyns, Dan (23 June 2011). "Peru's challenge to tackle cocaine trade". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-11-26.

See also


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