Speaking in La Macarena, a town near one of Colombia’s most prized national parks, President Iván Duque announced last month that his government will deploy 10% of its troops—about 10,000—to curb the country’s rampant deforestation. Colombia loses around 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of forestland annually due to illegal logging as well as deforestation associated with such other activities as unauthorized mining and drug trafficking. Citing a “hemorrhaging of the forests,” Duque on April 28 launched Operation Artemis, under which security forces would safeguard key woodlands, primarily national parks including La Macarena, Serranía de Chiribiquete, Tinigua and Los Picachos. “As part of our national security strategy, we are going to have zero tolerance for deforestation,” Duque said. “The defense of biodiversity, the defense of our tropical forests and the defense of our national parks should be something that unites us as a country.” Though the government has released no... [Log in to read more]