chief ingredient

The event took place in Tibu, in Norte de Santander province, the scene of frequent clashes between Colombia's military and a plethora of illegally armed groups and where vast swathes of land are covered in crops of coca, the chief ingredient in cocaine.

Negotiations began in Tibu, in Norte de Santander province, the scene of frequent clashes between Colombia's military and a plethora of illegally armed groups and where vast swathes of land are covered in crops of coca, the chief ingredient in cocaine.

Colombia, facing pressure from the United States to fight cocaine production, has historically under conservative governments relied on tactics like the forced eradication of coca - the drug's chief ingredient - and prosecution of poor farmers rearing the crop.

Coca is the chief ingredient in cocaine, whose production has fueled the Andean country's six-decade armed conflict, which has killed at least 450,000 people.

Ecuador, the world's top banana exporter, has traditionally escaped the violence that has long engulfed its northern neighbor, Colombia, the planet's No. 1 producer of coca, the chief ingredient in cocaine.