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In 2009, there were 2,899 murders in Medellin, Colombia, doubled the murder total in 2008.  The increase is directly attributed to  fighting between the estimated 150 to 300 drug gangs over territory in the region.

Source:  Nadja Drost, “In Medellín, a Disturbing Comeback of Crime,” Time, February 22, 2010.

According to the United Nations, in 2008 South America had 167,600 hectares devoted to cocaine production, a decrease of 8 percent of 2007.

The cultivation area of Colombia accounted for 430 tons of cocaine, or 48.3 percent of the total amount cultivated in South America. Peru accounted for 302 tons, or 33.5 percent of the total amount.

Source: “Peru may overtake Colombia in cocaine output: U.N.,” Reuters, February 23, 2010.

In 2009, 480 illegal immigrants from countries in Asia and Africa were arrested in Colombia as the country became a staging area for human smugglers on their way into the United States.

Source:  Sibylla Brodzinsky, “Colombia becomes new hub for human smuggling into US,” Christian Science Monitor, February 22, 2010.

Up to one-third of all cocaine produced in Colombia is believed to be trafficked through Ecuador in 2009, four times more than the amount transported earlier.

Source:  Chris Kraul, “Cocaine trafficking keeps Ecuador anti-drug authorities busy,” Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2010.

There are at least 4,000 people involved in right-wing paramilitary organizations in Colombia that are involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

Source:  Sibylla Brodzinsky, “Colombia’s ‘neo-paramilitaries’ on the rise,” Christian Science Monitor, February 3, 2010.

At the start of 2010, Colombia was the largest producer of Cocaine in the world, followed by Peru.

Source: Luis Andres Henao, “Latin America rejects old U.S. approach in drugs war,” Reuters, January 29, 2010.

Taken from an article by Reuters, below is the increase in price of a kilo of cocaine as it travels from Farmers to Dealers.

• Farmers in the Andes sell a kilo of coca paste to processors for $500 to $800.
• After the coca is processed into Cocaine, it is sold to Mexican Drug Cartels for up to $6,000 a kilo.
• The drug cartels smuggles it into the United States and Europe and break up the kilos of cocaine to sell individually as grams.  The total value of the kilo of cocaine generates between $80,000 to $100,000.

Source:  Robin Emmott, “Cartel Inc: In the company of Narcos,” Reuters, January 14, 2010.

In 2008, $4.3 Million in counterfeit bills were seized in Colombia.

As of October, $19 Million was seized in 2009.

Source:  Associated Press, “Colombia seizes $19M in forged US bills in 2009,” Google News, November 10, 2009.

According to a report in the Observer, the illicit cultivation of cocaine in Colombia has lead to the loss of 2.2 million hectares of tropical forests in the country.

In addition, for each hectares of cocaine that is grown, three hectares of forests is cleared.  For each gram of cocaine used, four square meters of the rain forest in Colombia is destroyed.

Source:  Jamie Doward, “Colombia’s endangered species at the mercy of jungle drug cartels,” Observer, October 25, 2009.