[MODEM CONNECTING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: We've landed in Cali, and we're headed to
the Cauca region, which is another hot combat zone in the
south of the country.
We're joining an elite group of the Colombian army as they
clear mines and then advance up to the guerrilla.
CARLOS CARDENAS: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: So right now, we're headed out to an
area that the military thinks is secure.
It's about a kilometer from their base.
And after that area's secured, that's when a
landmine-clearing team will come in.
Yesterday, there was combat between soldiers from this
base and the guerrilla.
They were able to capture one guerrilla member, so they kind
of won the skirmish.
But they're not sure what still lies here, so we're
trying to be very careful.
-[SPEAKING SPANISH]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: FARC wasn't always such a scourge on the
country's poor, and they weren't always the only ones
using landmines.
The Colombian army used them, too, until 1997, when the
country became a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty, an
international agreement that bans the use of
anti-personnel mines.
But planting landmines is a tempting tactic because it's
so cheap and so effective at
protecting strategic territory.
FARC has tried turning to politics, but their candidates
kept getting assassinated.
So they went right back to jungle warfare.
They even tried talking peace before, at the height of their
powers in the late '90s.
But that fell apart when the government got funding from
the US to take down FARC under the banner
of the war on drugs.
After 9/11, US aid continued as part of the war on terror.
But ultimately, FARC has become one of the most
organized and ruthless cartels in the world.
JORGE HUMBERTO JEREZ: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: At its height, FARC raked in as much
as $1 billion a year from drugs.
And they've never been shy about controlling their trade
through murder and extortion--
and using land mines to protect their coca fields.
CARLOS ANDRES VALENCIA ROJAS: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: After securing the area near their
base, the army wanted to show us their big guns.
So it looks like we're about to go fire some heavy
artillery at FARC just outside of soccer practice.
-[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[BOOM]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: We spoke to the colonel in charge.
And how often do you fire at them?
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: And do you know if there are any civilian
towns or villages near?
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: But there's a soccer practice that's
happening right there, right?
So what if they come and hit back?
You're so close to the children.
-No, because it's different.
It's obviously somewhat limited from here.
So it's being ranged according to the mountains.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: So FARC doesn't have this kind of
range on their artillery?
-No, they don't.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Combat is commonplace for
Colombians in the south.
And as the war continues at its turgid pace, life
moves around it.
Unless, of course it's disrupted by one false step.
Next, the military had us hike up to a strategic position
atop a mountain near a town named Guatemala, where FARC is
known to plant mines.
To maintain their control of the
mountain, they patrol daily.
And each time, they have to check for mines.
It's a slow, and as we learned, kind of goofy task.
-[SPEAKING SPANISH]
SANTIAGO CASTANO: Today, every day, we have to come here to
secure this point, because the FARC, the enemy,
can be here any time.
So we have to do this procedure every single day.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: The procedure starts when one
soldier tosses a metal orb on a string to set
off any trip wires.
After that, they send in a dog to sniff for plastic
explosives.
Then comes a pretty basic metal detector.
And that's about it.
JORGE HUMBERTO JEREZ: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
[DETECTOR SQUEALS]
-At this moment, the detector is no good, because in the
past we have had combats here.
So just the pieces of metal, like with the
bullets, the rounds.
So the detector is detecting that metal.
So they're giving us fake signals.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Right.
-So now for this, we have to trust with the search the dog
did and the search with the rope.
The most important for us is to keep the
security of our men.
And so we have to be sure, completely sure, there is
nothing to be worried about.
It's essential, [INAUDIBLE]
to do this.
We cannot go through without making the search.
-[SPEAKING SPANISH]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Their de-mining procedure didn't
exactly inspire much confidence.
But we got a glimpse of how 7,000 rebels can hold off over
300,000 soldiers--
by slowing them down and making them unsure of every
step they take.
[SINGING ALONG TO MUSIC ON RADIO]
[MUSIC - LOS DIABOLITOS, "Y NO ESTAS AQUI"]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: There are still countless landmines
buried across Colombia.
FARC wants to demobilize and join Columbia's political
system, and to do so, they'll likely have to find and
destroy the landmines they've planted.
But until the narco trade is somehow shut down, conflict
will continue because the expertise of guerrilla combat
will move from FARC to whatever strong-arm militia
takes over the trade.
But the people of Colombia are resilient, and life, even if
fraught with danger, goes on as it has for decades.
[MUSIC - LOS DIABOLITOS, "Y NO ESTAS AQUI"]