The Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro ( lit. 'Valley of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro rivers'), also known as the VRAEM, is a geopolitical area in Peru, located in portions of the departments of Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, and Junin. [1] [2] It is one of the major areas of coca production in Peru. [3] It is also the center of operation of the far-left terrorist group Shining Path.
The area is extremely poor. [3] 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. [4]
Since 2012, Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world's largest cocaine-producing country. [5] [6] With local incomes below $10/day, the valleys are used to produce raw paste product, and much of the drug trade is controlled by the Shining Path. [6] [7] 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] [7] Paste product is shipped out of the valleys by armed native backpackers to Cuzco, [3] [6] 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. [6] [7]
The Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro ( lit. 'Valley of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro rivers'), also known as the VRAEM, is a geopolitical area in Peru, located in portions of the departments of Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, and Junin. [1] [2] It is one of the major areas of coca production in Peru. [3] It is also the center of operation of the far-left terrorist group Shining Path.
The area is extremely poor. [3] 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. [4]
Since 2012, Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world's largest cocaine-producing country. [5] [6] With local incomes below $10/day, the valleys are used to produce raw paste product, and much of the drug trade is controlled by the Shining Path. [6] [7] 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] [7] Paste product is shipped out of the valleys by armed native backpackers to Cuzco, [3] [6] 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. [6] [7]