Al Jazeera Documentaries

Snow of the Andes: Peru's Cocaine (2015x58)

Air date: Nov 27, 2015

For over 4 decades Peru has fought the war on drugs with backing from the US. Ten of thousands of coca plants and hundres of tonnes of cocaine have been destroyed. Despite all these efforts, United Nations now claims Peru is the most important producer of cocaine in the world; with this has come levels of corruption and violence that threatens the very fabric of the country. Over the past year that battle has focused on the capital's port, with criminal cartels fighting for control of the main exit rout for drugs.It is a war that everyone knows cannot ever be won, but not to fight it is un-thinkable, and Sonia Medina Peru's current anti-drug Prosecutor continously risks her life - and that of her family - to face down the growing grip of the narcotic cartels on her country.Globally, drugs supply and consumption have gone up. The price of drugs has gone down. Governments have spent billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives.