The Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro (), also known as the VRAEM, is a geopolitical area in Peru, located in portions of the departments of Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, and Junin. It is one of the major areas of coca production in Peru. It is also the center of operation of the far-left guerrilla group Shining Path.
The area is extremely poor. The VRAEM is an area of such high childhood malnutrition and poverty that the government of Peru selected the VRAEM to launch its National Strategy for Growth program in 2007.
Cocaine production In 2010, Peru overtook Colombia as the world's largest cocaine-producing country, although Colombia still led in total hectares of coca grown. How Peru Beat Colombia to Be World’s Biggest Cocaine Producer InsightCrime With local incomes below $10/day, the valleys are used to produce raw paste product, and much of the drug trade is controlled by the Shining Path. With an estimated of production area in 2010, it was the world's densest area of cocaine production. Paste product is shipped out of the valleys by armed native backpackers to Cuzco, and then onward shipped to either: the Pacific Ocean ports; the Bolivian border, where it is sold to one of the drug cartels; or to mule-traffickers who ship the product onwards via scheduled air transport to Europe and North America.
See also Sivia Pichari
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