Hundreds of videos posted on TikTok by young Colombians document cocaine being produced in the South American country, from the fields where coca grows to the labs where the leaves are transformed into the drug. Colombia is the largest global producer of both coca and cocaine. One of these TikTokers told the FRANCE 24 Observers team that many locals are reliant on coca production to make a living but that the sector continues to be controlled by illegal drug traffickers.
Two-thirds of coca plantations worldwide are found in Colombia, according to the UN – far ahead of the next two countries on the list, Peru and Bolivia. In 2020, an estimated 143,000 hectares of Colombian land was covered with coca fields.
