|
|
Article: Plunging coffee prices fuel coca production, civil war in Colombia.
- Article from:
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
- Article date:
- April 19, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Gary Marx
ANDES, Colombia _ With coffee prices near historic lows, the economic crisis facing thousands of small farmers in this picturesque region also is feeding Colombia's civil war and could threaten an intensive U.S.-funded antinarcotics program.
Perched high on lush mountain slopes and intersected by rivers, Andes and the surrounding area stand on the edge of Colombia's once-prosperous coffee region. The crop has provided a steady income to generations of small farmers and migrant laborers while satisfying the needs of American, European and other coffee drinkers.
But a flood of cheap coffee from Vietnam and other countries, ...