Cauca
Accounts for 50% of Colombia's coca expansion with Nariño; Nasa indigenous guardia resists both armed groups and illegal mining despite 40+ leader assassinations in 2023.
The Nasa people have defended these volcanic highlands for five centuries, and defense remains Cauca's organizing principle. Spanish conquistadors found gold in the rivers but couldn't break indigenous resistance in the mountains. When the Republic emerged, Popayán became the political nursery for presidents—fifteen of them—yet the surrounding territory remained largely autonomous. By the 20th century, state absence created vacuums that guerrillas, paramilitaries, and narcos rushed to fill.
Today Cauca anchors Colombia's coca geography. Together with neighboring Nariño, it accounts for 50% of the national expansion in coca cultivation since 2022, with 48% of crops planted in protected indigenous reserves. Gold mining has surpassed cocaine as revenue for armed groups—80% of Colombian gold is now illegally produced. The Nasa resist both: indigenous guardia patrols have expelled miners and burned coca labs, but activists face assassination (over 40 leaders killed in 2023). The paradox is acute: Cauca produces both Colombia's deadliest conflict and its most organized grassroots resistance.
By 2026, Cauca will test whether indigenous territorial control can outcompete armed economies. The Total Peace negotiations offer dialogue, but real peace requires replacing illicit income with legal alternatives—coffee, panela, ecotourism—at scale. Whether the guardia can hold the line while legitimate alternatives take root will determine if Cauca becomes a model for conflict resolution or a permanent war zone.