MEDELLIN, Colombia, March 4 (UPI) -- Gold mines are the new front in Colombia's long-running battle with guerrillas and rebel groups in search of new funding sources for their causes, analysts say.
Even as Colombian authorities claim wins in capturing top rebel commanders and eliminating tracts of coca plants used to make cocaine that help finance insurgents, factions are exploring new sources of money, The New York Times reported Friday.
"These groups are metamorphosing to take advantage of the opportunities they see," said Jeremy McDermott, a Medellin-based director of InSight, a research organization focused on criminal enterprises in Latin America. "They know there's a huge new revenue stream within their grasp, and they're grabbing it."
Guerrillas and criminal enterprises have been involved in mining for a while, using it to launder money and get extortion payments, officials said. But the success of the U.S.-financed coca eradication projects and the price of gold have enhanced mining's value, military intelligence officials and Medellin residents said. Gold futures this week were a non-inflation-adjusted record $1,441 an ounce.
The gold rush in Medellin is part of a broader mining explosion in Colombia, with gold production climbing more than 30 percent last year and attracting operators ranging from multinational corporations to farmers, the Times said.
