Chimore is situated in a dense jungle region, and its culture and identity have been heavily shaped by coca, the plant best known as the main ingredient in cocaine. Ten years ago, the town was the site of a base camp for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, which was investigating coca cultivation and drug trafficking. Going back to the 1980s, the agency's primary strategy had involved destroying as much coca crop as possible, leaving many rural families in poverty.
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