Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro

The Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro ("valley of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro rivers"), also known as the VRAEM or VRAE, is a geopolitical area in Peru.[1] It is one of the major areas of coca-growing in Peru.[2] The area is extremely poor.[2]

Overlooking the VRAEM
Map of the Valle del ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro
Active areas of the Shining Path guerillas, currently active mostly in the VRAEM
A military base in the VRAEM

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.[3]

Cocaine production

Since 2012, Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world's largest cocaine-producing country.[4][5] With local incomes below $10/day, and the natives having suffered from the Shining Path rebels (Sendero Luminoso), the valleys are used to produce raw paste product.[5][6] 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][6] Paste product is shipped out of the valleys by armed native backpackers to Cuzco,[2][5] 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.[5][6]

References
  1. "Slaves of the past". The Economist. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. Pressly, Linda (24 November 2015). "The Mochileros". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  3. "Crecer ya está en el VRAE". Comisión Interministerial de Asuntos Sociales. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  4. "Part 5. Peru Coca Cultivation Survey" (PDF). Peru Coca Survey for 2005. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/07/world/americas/ap-lt-peru-cocaine-backpackers.html?_r=0. Retrieved November 24, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Collyns, Dan (23 June 2011). "Peru's challenge to tackle cocaine trade". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-11-26.

See also


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