Colombia’s Cocaine Towns

In March 2009, Irish Journalist Karen Coleman went to Colombia to investigate how the armed conflict and illegal drugs trade were effecting the Colombians. During her trip she visited the seaport town of Buenaventura on Colombia’s west coast. Its strategic location on the Pacific Ocean makes it one of the biggest cocaine export ports in the world. Karen also visited slums on the edges of the port. In one of the slums, she met Fr Ariel Ruiz who’s trying to stop right-wing paramilitaries from destroying his neighbourhood.