Cocaine, Gold, and Beef: The New Criminal Business in Colombia's Amazon

After Colombia's civil war ended, armed groups filled the space left by the Farc rebels. Their new business is destroying the Amazon rainforest. From a small plane high above the forest, expert Rodrigo Botero sees the damage. The green canopy is now broken by large, growing brown patches. Botero leads the Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (FCDS). His team has flown over 150 missions to map the destruction. They track deforestation following new roads, illegal crops, and settlements. "We now have the highest road density in the entire Amazon," says Botero. Criminal networks are cutting down the forest to control land. They are also building thousands of kilometers of secret routes. These roads are used to smuggle cocaine, illegally mined gold, and cattle raised on cleared land.