The Cocaine Industry in Bahía Solano

By Richard McColl

Bahía Solano’s pivotal location in the narcotics transportation of narcotics has made it inevitable for the locals to have become involved in the industry. There does not appear to be any consumption of the product in Bahía Solano, but the industry that the United States and Europe has made lucrative certainly makes waves here.

In recent years, fishermen no longer fish as much for the traditional catch, but for 25 kilo. parcels of cocaine thrown overboard from drugs boats on their way north, which are under threat of capture by the Colombian authorities. A humble fisherman stands to gain $25,000 by collecting the item, hiding it on a secluded beach, informing a buyer and – essentially – selling it back to its owner. The profit margins are so great that neither party is particularly upset.

The knock-on effect to the cocaine industry is that in a bizarre turn, Bahía Solano – with an oceanfront abundant in fish – is often left without fish to buy. Restaurants are void of fish to prepare and the aircraft from Medellín, which fly in supplies, halt trips, since they make the return route without fish to sell. Then, the vicious circle continues…..