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In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, gauze bandages cover the fingers of a coca picker in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Pickers wrap their hands with bandages to prevent blisters while harvesting coca leaves (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__10_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo sprinkles cement over mulched coca leaves to prepare them to make coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The cement is used as a binding agent on the mulched leaves. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__12_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar mixes liquid coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. He wears a mask because it can be hard to breathe amid the noxious fumes that emanate from various buckets marinating the huge mix of leaves. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__9_]()
In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, Edgar mulches coca leaves with a weed eater as the first step in making coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Next to him the laborers who harvested the leaves eat their breakfast. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__13_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar takes a nap outside his home while his father makes cocaine paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Edgar and his family run a small coca paste production operation, a small cog the the Colombian cottage industry that produces cocaine. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__11_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Valeria holds her food on leaves as she eats lunch with her husband Edgar at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The whole family lives off the production of coca paste and the idea of eradication of their crop is a call to arms for the whole region. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__14_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, a coca field owned by Edgar and his father Gonzalo stands ready for harvest in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The family produces coca paste that is used to make cocaine at a humble home in territory controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__15_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo cooks coca paste in the kitchen of his house as his daughter-in-law Valeria looks on, in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. This last step is called "fritada," or fryup. The coca paste residue is placed in water and heated until most of the water content is evaporated. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__16_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, a laborer siphons gasoline as Edgar, left, holds a bucket during the production of coca paste in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Coca leaves are mixed in big vats that contain gasoline, ether and other chemicals into a kind of yellow brew.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__17_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar holds a mixing stick with lumps of solidifying coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The paste is extracted after adding a strong acid into the mix that will further precipitate the alkaloid. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__2_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, a vat holds liquid called "nata," which means buttermilk at a lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The mixture of coca leaf juice, gasoline, ether and other chemicals will eventually be converted into coca paste. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__18_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo places mulched coca leafs sprinkled with cement and soaked in gasoline into a press as he makes coca paste at a small lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The mixture is put into a press so the basic liquid extract of coca paste can be squeezed out. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__20_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo cuts coca paste into pieces ready to sell while his wife observes at their home in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Gonzalo says he gets about $900 for a kilo of finished coca paste. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__21_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo illuminates a spoonful of liquid coca paste with a flashlight as he cooks it to remove the water content working in the kitchen of his home in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. He uses the flashlight because there is no electricity in his house. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__3_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, coca extract is mixed with gasoline during the production of coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Gasoline is used to extract alkaloid from the liquid mix. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__4_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, coca paste ready for sale sits in the kitchen of a home in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Later, at some point along the way, the paste is made into cocaine that is eventually sold on the streets of such places as New York and Amsterdam for many thousands of dollars.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__5_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Valeria and her husband share a plate as they eat lunch near a laborer stirring a concoction of coca leaf extract and cement mixed with gasoline at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Noxious fumes emanating from the mixture are a normal part of the manufacturing process. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__6_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo stirs a mix of mulched coca leaves and cement with gasoline, as part of the initial process to make coca paste, at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Apart from gasoline and cement, ammonia, sulphuric acid, sodium permanganate and caustic soda are some of the chemicals used to produce the paste. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__8_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, while his granddaughter watches, Gonzalo pours liquid of coca paste residue after cooking it in his kitchen in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Once the yellow paste is cooked to evaporate the chemicals and water content, it's crushed to be packed and sold. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)![Coca_paste_colombia__7_]()
In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar cleans a barrel as his father Gonzalo stands next to him during the manufacture of coca paste, at a small lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The family manufactures coca paste as part of the cottage industry that produces cocaine for world consumption. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)A look at coca paste production at small lab in mountains of Colombia
It begins with the coca plants, which grow just two months in a tropical, temperate climate before they are harvested.
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- A look at coca paste production at small lab in mountains of Colombia
