Story perspectives

Indigenous Guard Battles Cocaine Gangs to Protect Land

11/16/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Kakataibo Indigenous Guard (KIG) in Ucayali, Peru, confronts cocaine gangs encroaching on ancestral lands with traditional weapons to eradicate coca plantations.
Coca cultivation rose from 43,000 hectares in 2013 to nearly 90,000 hectares in 2024.
About 20 Indigenous leaders have been murdered for opposing drug traffickers.
KIG, facing threats from authorities, has used drones to locate coca fields in a government reserve to protect isolated tribes.

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Story summary

Kakataibo Indigenous Guard (KIG) in Ucayali, Peru, confronts cocaine gangs encroaching on ancestral lands with traditional weapons to eradicate coca plantations.
Coca cultivation rose from 43,000 hectares in 2013 to nearly 90,000 hectares in 2024.
About 20 Indigenous leaders have been murdered for opposing drug traffickers.
KIG, facing threats from authorities, has used drones to locate coca fields in a government reserve to protect isolated tribes.