1 of 10

Write now Article Tools

Deep inside the lush jungle in northeastern Ecuador, a Byzantine pattern of pipelines moves solvents to distribution centers throughout the country. For drug traffickers that lurk on the other side of the San Miguel and Putumayo rivers, the pipelines represent an abundant supply of Petroleum ether (white gasoline). The white gas is used by Colombian cocaine cartels to transform coca leaves into pure cocaine.

Ecuadorean police and military officials estimate that 10,000 gallons of white gas is illegally brought into Colombia on a daily basis. Seventy percent of the 10,000 gallons is used as a solvent in cocaine laboratories.

The primary beneficiary of ramped up cocaine production is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist revolutionary militia that has fought a civil war with the Colombian government for nearly forty years. FARC finances its military operations by producing cocaine, mostly in areas along the Ecuador-Colombia border.

Besides tapping into ecuadorean pipelines with home made spigots, FARC rebels also rob gas trucks and facilities owned by Ecuador's national oil company, Petroecuador. Storing the gas in fifty-five gallon oil drums, the rebels transport the white gas across the border or they take it to drug laboratories that are increasingly being set up in Ecuador. The smuggling of white gas has become a strong point of contention between Ecuador and Colombia.

Since the United States stepped up support for the Colombian government with a seventeen billion dollar cocaine eradication program, the rebels have been forced to head deep into the Colombian jungle that borders Ecuador. The use of herbicide on coca crops has continued in the jungle region, leading the rebels to organize relocation camps just inside of Ecuador's border.

FARC's position inside of Ecuador created unprecedented tension between the Ecuadorean and Colombian governments. After months of increased acrimony, Colombian troops raided FARC positions inside of Ecuador on March 1, 2008. Colombian officials have long complained the rebels were allowed to take refuge in both Ecuador and Venezuela.

The March first raid killed FARC's Number two in command Raul Reyes. The death of Reyes, couple with the March 26 death of longtime FARC leader Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, considerably weakened FARC's leadership hierarchy and forced rebel troops to regroup deeper inside of Ecuador.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez immediately inflamed the animus between Ecuador and Colombia after

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Drugs, oil and possible war: What's driving the conflicts along Colombia's borders with Venezuela and Ecuador??
We want to hear your view. Write now!