Episode 2

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0:00:02 > 0:00:05I'm on a journey around the edge of the Caribbean Sea,

0:00:05 > 0:00:09with thousands of beautiful islands,

0:00:09 > 0:00:11and an incredible mainland coast,

0:00:11 > 0:00:15home to millions of extraordinary people.

0:00:15 > 0:00:19This is a vast area spanning a million square miles,

0:00:19 > 0:00:22with a rich and brutal history,

0:00:22 > 0:00:25and some of the most dangerous places on the planet.

0:00:25 > 0:00:27GUNFIRE

0:00:28 > 0:00:32It's one of the most vibrant and exciting regions on Earth.

0:00:32 > 0:00:34It's the Caribbean.

0:00:36 > 0:00:40'I'm travelling right around the Caribbean Sea.

0:00:40 > 0:00:42'This second leg of the journey takes me

0:00:42 > 0:00:45'from the tropical islands of Barbados and St Vincent,

0:00:45 > 0:00:47'then along the coast of South America.

0:00:51 > 0:00:54'On the Caribbean's glorious islands,

0:00:54 > 0:00:55'I eat a pest in paradise...'

0:00:55 > 0:00:57Yes, baby!

0:00:57 > 0:01:00'..and I climb a volcano to meet locals

0:01:00 > 0:01:03'with high hopes for an illicit crop.'

0:01:03 > 0:01:08It's a sort of hidden, semi-secret marijuana valley.

0:01:08 > 0:01:12'I travel through the badlands of Venezuela's Wild West...'

0:01:12 > 0:01:14There was actually a shoot-out

0:01:14 > 0:01:17between smugglers and National Guard.

0:01:17 > 0:01:19'..and in the coastal mountains of Columbia,

0:01:19 > 0:01:22'I meet an ancient people with a powerful message for the world.'

0:01:22 > 0:01:25Do you think younger brother will ever listen?

0:01:45 > 0:01:49'I was just off the coast of the beautiful island of Barbados,

0:01:49 > 0:01:51'at the eastern edge of the Caribbean.

0:01:53 > 0:01:56'With glorious beaches and fabulous villas,

0:01:56 > 0:01:58'it's the Caribbean of the rich and the famous.

0:01:59 > 0:02:01'But they still let me visit.'

0:02:09 > 0:02:10Flipping heck!

0:02:12 > 0:02:15That's what you call super-yachts.

0:02:15 > 0:02:16But think of the upkeep.

0:02:16 > 0:02:18Think of all the cleaning.

0:02:18 > 0:02:21'The island is one of the jewels of the Caribbean,

0:02:21 > 0:02:23'a proper bit of paradise.'

0:02:23 > 0:02:25Goodness me!

0:02:26 > 0:02:28Welcome to Barbados.

0:02:31 > 0:02:37'Barbados is a major fly and flop destination for wealthy sun-seekers.

0:02:37 > 0:02:38'Tourism's the main money-earner here,

0:02:38 > 0:02:41'and has made the 285,000 Bajans

0:02:41 > 0:02:44'among the richest people in the region.

0:02:44 > 0:02:46'But an influx of oligarchs

0:02:46 > 0:02:49'and movie stars buying homes has caused friction.

0:02:49 > 0:02:53'On the best beaches, locals are now almost invisible.

0:02:53 > 0:02:57'Many say they've been pushed out by property developers.

0:02:57 > 0:02:59'I went to meet one man who's holding out

0:02:59 > 0:03:01'against the tide of gentrification.'

0:03:03 > 0:03:04All right. Hello, sir.

0:03:04 > 0:03:06Simon Reeve, BBC.

0:03:06 > 0:03:08- Pleased to meet you. - Lovely to meet you too, sir.

0:03:08 > 0:03:10Yeah, come right in.

0:03:10 > 0:03:14Neville Ifill lives in a house his grandparents bought.

0:03:14 > 0:03:16DOG BARKS

0:03:18 > 0:03:21You're going to show us the beach. OK, after you.

0:03:21 > 0:03:24Mr Ifill, this is very nice.

0:03:26 > 0:03:27A cool spot.

0:03:27 > 0:03:30Can I ask, do you know how much money your grandma paid

0:03:30 > 0:03:33for this plot of land, for the house originally?

0:03:36 > 0:03:3724?

0:03:37 > 0:03:39..four dollars.

0:03:44 > 0:03:47And was this a less fashionable...

0:03:47 > 0:03:49A cheaper place to buy then?

0:03:49 > 0:03:50Yeah. Yeah.

0:03:51 > 0:03:54In the past, much of this area was swampy mangroves

0:03:54 > 0:03:58and only the poorest folk lived by the beach.

0:03:58 > 0:04:00Now, this is one of the most expensive,

0:04:00 > 0:04:03valuable bits of land on planet Earth.

0:04:03 > 0:04:06Ironically, when slavery ended here black Bajans could only

0:04:06 > 0:04:10afford homes along what's become the Platinum Coast.

0:04:10 > 0:04:13Now, villas are replacing traditional homes.

0:04:13 > 0:04:17Paths giving beach access to all are disappearing.

0:04:17 > 0:04:19Some locals complain they've been purged from the landscape.

0:04:21 > 0:04:23Is that how it feels?

0:04:27 > 0:04:30Have people come to you and said, "Sell us your home"?

0:04:38 > 0:04:398 million?

0:04:39 > 0:04:40US.

0:04:40 > 0:04:44Why didn't you want to take such a large sum?

0:04:55 > 0:04:58Yeah, everybody always says, "Oh, every man has their price"...

0:04:58 > 0:05:00- Right.- ..but it sounds like you haven't got one.

0:05:00 > 0:05:02You're not selling for anything!

0:05:09 > 0:05:12With crazy sums on offer, it's not surprising many Bajans have

0:05:12 > 0:05:15sold their simple beach houses and moved inland.

0:05:15 > 0:05:18But it was inspiring to see Neville's dogged refusal

0:05:18 > 0:05:19to take the cash.

0:05:19 > 0:05:22Money's not everything, after all.

0:05:22 > 0:05:24So a lot of people might think it's completely mad to

0:05:24 > 0:05:29turn down a multimillion pound offer for what is a fairly

0:05:29 > 0:05:32small patch of land, but if you're in love with

0:05:32 > 0:05:35a piece of paradise like this,

0:05:35 > 0:05:38you can't really put a price on it.

0:05:38 > 0:05:40Look at that!

0:05:44 > 0:05:46'Of course, the seas around the Caribbean

0:05:46 > 0:05:48'offer much more than just a lovely view.

0:05:48 > 0:05:51'Beneath the waves, the coral reef off Barbados

0:05:51 > 0:05:53'is a haven of bio-diversity.

0:05:53 > 0:05:58'Like coral reef around the world, it's critical to life in our oceans.

0:05:58 > 0:06:01'I went to meet Andre Miller, a local marine biologist.'

0:06:01 > 0:06:03Permission to come aboard.

0:06:03 > 0:06:05- Come aboard.- Andre.- Simon.

0:06:05 > 0:06:07- Hello. Simon Reeve. Hello. - Nice to meet you, brother.

0:06:07 > 0:06:09Nice to meet you too. Thank you for having us.

0:06:09 > 0:06:11'We headed out towards some of the most beautiful

0:06:11 > 0:06:13'dive sites on the planet.'

0:06:31 > 0:06:35'Coral reefs cover much less than 1% of the ocean floor,

0:06:35 > 0:06:38'but support more than a quarter of all marine life.

0:06:38 > 0:06:40'They act as nurseries for bigger fish

0:06:40 > 0:06:43'and feeding ground for the larger species,

0:06:43 > 0:06:47'so damage to a reef is a huge threat to life in our oceans.

0:06:52 > 0:06:56'But now, more than three-quarters of the world's reefs are at risk

0:06:56 > 0:07:00'of severe decline, threatened by pollution and our changing climate.

0:07:07 > 0:07:10'Here in the Caribbean there's an additional villain.

0:07:11 > 0:07:14'It's called the lionfish.

0:07:14 > 0:07:18'It's a stunning creature with an array of venomous spines.

0:07:18 > 0:07:24'Lionfish shouldn't be here. Their natural home is the Indo-Pacific.

0:07:24 > 0:07:27'Scientists think they first got here in the ballast tanks of ships

0:07:27 > 0:07:29'or after being released from aquariums.

0:07:29 > 0:07:33'The trouble is, lionfish have a voracious appetite for the

0:07:33 > 0:07:38'young of almost every other fish, and virtually nothing eats them.'

0:07:38 > 0:07:41They have, when grown, no natural predators.

0:07:41 > 0:07:44Every single day, they can eat half their body weight.

0:07:44 > 0:07:47They can clean up a reef and remove all of the natural fish.

0:07:47 > 0:07:50When we dissect these fish we find every species of

0:07:50 > 0:07:52reef fish inside their stomachs.

0:07:52 > 0:07:55Are you really quite worried then about what they're going to do here?

0:07:55 > 0:07:56We are extremely worried.

0:07:56 > 0:07:59If we don't do something now, in a few years

0:07:59 > 0:08:01we might just be diving and looking at lionfish.

0:08:05 > 0:08:09'A few years ago I saw lionfish far to the north in the Bahamas,

0:08:09 > 0:08:12'while I was travelling around the Tropic of Cancer.

0:08:12 > 0:08:14'Since then, their numbers have exploded

0:08:14 > 0:08:17'and they've spread across the Caribbean.

0:08:20 > 0:08:23'They pose such a threat to reefs that Andre and other

0:08:23 > 0:08:28'scientists have decided the only way to stop them is to kill them.'

0:08:32 > 0:08:35'He gave me a bit of training and asked me to help.

0:08:35 > 0:08:37'Conservationists don't enjoy taking life,

0:08:37 > 0:08:40'but as we've introduced lionfish to the Caribbean,

0:08:40 > 0:08:43'many argue it's our responsibility

0:08:43 > 0:08:45'to stop them destroying this fragile eco-system.'

0:08:47 > 0:08:48Good job, first I must say.

0:08:48 > 0:08:50Well, thank you.

0:08:50 > 0:08:52You filled up a container. Good job.

0:08:52 > 0:08:55This is about 15 less lionfish we have to worry about.

0:08:55 > 0:08:57- 15 less.- It's a start.

0:08:57 > 0:09:00Because the more people on shore start eating these,

0:09:00 > 0:09:03then 15 becomes 1,500.

0:09:03 > 0:09:04Eating them?

0:09:04 > 0:09:08Yeah, more and more of our Barbadian people, more of us are eating these.

0:09:08 > 0:09:09'Andre's culling them,

0:09:09 > 0:09:12'but he's also encouraging locals to start eating lionfish.

0:09:12 > 0:09:15'If people get a taste for them, fishermen will hunt them,

0:09:15 > 0:09:20'but it's not easy to find anyone happy to handle the venomous fish.'

0:09:20 > 0:09:24We are going to, first of all, cut those spines off.

0:09:24 > 0:09:27'Lionfish spines are still dangerous even after the fish is dead.'

0:09:27 > 0:09:29That's the business side right there.

0:09:29 > 0:09:30And it is, of course,

0:09:30 > 0:09:35the venom which I think really puts people off the idea of eating them.

0:09:35 > 0:09:38But you don't actually sell lionfish here.

0:09:38 > 0:09:40- No.- You give it up for free?

0:09:40 > 0:09:41Yeah.

0:09:41 > 0:09:43You give it away for free?

0:09:43 > 0:09:45- Yeah.- Why?

0:09:45 > 0:09:46People are scared of it.

0:09:46 > 0:09:48People are scared of it.

0:09:48 > 0:09:50People are scared. Once you cut this off, it's a normal fish.

0:09:50 > 0:09:54If we take these to cook them, will you stay and try it?

0:09:54 > 0:09:55- Will you try the meat?- Oh, no.

0:09:55 > 0:09:57- ANDRE LAUGHS - Oh, go on!

0:09:57 > 0:09:59No!

0:09:59 > 0:10:02You don't like the idea of it or you've got something better to do?

0:10:07 > 0:10:11'With a bit of careful cutting, the fish was ready for cooking,

0:10:11 > 0:10:14'so we headed over to Oistins, a popular local food market.'

0:10:16 > 0:10:23What happens if you can't get people here eating lionfish

0:10:23 > 0:10:25and control their numbers in some sort of way?

0:10:25 > 0:10:26What will the consequences be?

0:10:26 > 0:10:30The word I would use is "critical".

0:10:30 > 0:10:34We need to do something now, we need to be proactive, we need to act.

0:10:34 > 0:10:37Lionfish has only been in Barbados for two years

0:10:37 > 0:10:41and already it's on every single reef that I have ever dived on.

0:10:41 > 0:10:44We're seeing them everywhere we go.

0:10:46 > 0:10:48Thanks a lot. That's lovely of you.

0:10:48 > 0:10:49Thank you very much. OK.

0:10:50 > 0:10:52Lionfish.

0:10:52 > 0:10:53Lionfish.

0:10:55 > 0:10:57Mm.

0:10:57 > 0:10:58That's really good.

0:10:58 > 0:11:01It's delicious, actually. It's sort of, um,

0:11:01 > 0:11:03buttery.

0:11:03 > 0:11:06Oh, come on, you've got to get more people trying this.

0:11:06 > 0:11:08All the ladies said they're going to try it.

0:11:08 > 0:11:11Go on, try some. Who's going to try it? Come on!

0:11:11 > 0:11:12Tell me what it tastes like?

0:11:13 > 0:11:15Yes, baby.

0:11:17 > 0:11:19It tastes just like snapper.

0:11:19 > 0:11:21It tastes just like snapper. That's all I've been saying.

0:11:21 > 0:11:23Just like snapper.

0:11:23 > 0:11:26I think that's the best thing you could possibly hear.

0:11:26 > 0:11:28And you've got to recommend it to people as well.

0:11:28 > 0:11:30I will.

0:11:30 > 0:11:31- Promise?- I will.

0:11:31 > 0:11:33- Are you coming back next week? - Get it on George's menu.

0:11:33 > 0:11:36- You're going to try and get this on George's menu?- Yeah, I will try.

0:11:36 > 0:11:37That's what we're talking about.

0:11:37 > 0:11:39- Excellent.- That's it. That's it.

0:11:41 > 0:11:45Congratulations, mate. That's brilliant. Well done. Well done.

0:11:45 > 0:11:46You worked hard there.

0:11:46 > 0:11:47Mm-hm!

0:12:10 > 0:12:13'I continued my journey around the Caribbean Sea,

0:12:13 > 0:12:16'heading to the nearby island of St Vincent.

0:12:16 > 0:12:17'It's part of a chain of islands

0:12:17 > 0:12:20'with a population of around a 100,000,

0:12:20 > 0:12:23'which have only been an independent nation since 1979.'

0:12:27 > 0:12:29So we've managed to get the only trolley

0:12:29 > 0:12:32in St Vincent Airport, luckily.

0:12:32 > 0:12:34Who's this gentleman?

0:12:35 > 0:12:37- Hello.- Hey.

0:12:37 > 0:12:39- Are you Tari?- Yes, I'm Tari.

0:12:39 > 0:12:41Hello, Tari. Simon Reeve. Nice to meet you.

0:12:41 > 0:12:42Oh, Tari, yeah.

0:12:42 > 0:12:44We're going to be together for a few days, Tari.

0:12:44 > 0:12:47OK, that's great. I'm looking forward to that.

0:12:49 > 0:12:52'The island is rugged and beautiful,

0:12:52 > 0:12:55'with an active volcano to the north that Tari took me to see.

0:13:00 > 0:13:04'St Vincent was a British colony on and off for more than 200 years.

0:13:04 > 0:13:06'We filled it with slaves and plantations.

0:13:09 > 0:13:12'St Vincent is poorer than Barbados, with average incomes of less

0:13:12 > 0:13:15'than £100 a week, and it gets a lot less tourism.'

0:13:17 > 0:13:20So this sand isn't the traditional golden sand

0:13:20 > 0:13:24that many tourists expect when they're on holiday.

0:13:24 > 0:13:27It's not so fantastic for the tourism industry here,

0:13:27 > 0:13:30but the volcano

0:13:30 > 0:13:33is certainly very good at pumping out nutrients.

0:13:33 > 0:13:37I mean, the soil here is very rich, very fertile.

0:13:42 > 0:13:45'That fertile volcanic soil provides the island with

0:13:45 > 0:13:46'most of its earnings.

0:13:48 > 0:13:51'For decades, bananas were St Vincent's single biggest export,

0:13:51 > 0:13:53'but not any more.'

0:13:55 > 0:13:57Oh...

0:13:57 > 0:13:59So now we start to climb the volcano.

0:13:59 > 0:14:02'But we weren't going up to peer in to a crater.

0:14:02 > 0:14:04'With the help of the volcanic soil,

0:14:04 > 0:14:08'many farmers in this area are turning to a more illicit crop -

0:14:08 > 0:14:09'marijuana.'

0:14:10 > 0:14:13'The US government says St Vincent is the source

0:14:13 > 0:14:16'of the majority of cannabis in the Caribbean

0:14:16 > 0:14:19'and we were heading to the secret farms where it's grown.'

0:14:20 > 0:14:23It's a hell of an effort to get to these plantations.

0:14:23 > 0:14:25We don't know what sort of reception we're going to receive

0:14:25 > 0:14:27when we get there.

0:14:27 > 0:14:29'As in most of the Caribbean,

0:14:29 > 0:14:31'growing or using the drug is illegal here.'

0:14:31 > 0:14:33Somebody's helpfully left a rope here.

0:14:36 > 0:14:39'The US military has backed raids on farms here

0:14:39 > 0:14:41'and the destruction of crops.

0:14:41 > 0:14:43'As I discovered,

0:14:43 > 0:14:46'the marijuana plantations aren't exactly hard to find.'

0:14:46 > 0:14:48Look, I can see a hut just ahead.

0:14:48 > 0:14:50And those bushes there.

0:14:50 > 0:14:52I think we've reached the plantations.

0:14:52 > 0:14:55This is where they're growing marijuana.

0:14:56 > 0:15:00I can see more acres over there.

0:15:00 > 0:15:03There's a shack with more marijuana up there in the distance,

0:15:03 > 0:15:06up here on the hill, down below over there.

0:15:08 > 0:15:10It's quite an extraordinary sight.

0:15:10 > 0:15:15It's a sort of hidden, semi-secret marijuana valley.

0:15:17 > 0:15:21'As we got close to another farm, Tari told us to stay back

0:15:21 > 0:15:22'and keep our camera hidden.'

0:15:26 > 0:15:29There's a farmer just up ahead with a field,

0:15:29 > 0:15:32and we're hoping we can go and speak to him

0:15:32 > 0:15:34but, not surprisingly,

0:15:34 > 0:15:37he's not entirely keen that a TV crew turn up.

0:15:37 > 0:15:40Tari's just going to have a chat with him, try and negotiate.

0:15:44 > 0:15:46- Oh.- Simon.- Yeah?

0:15:46 > 0:15:49Let's go, let's go. OK.

0:15:58 > 0:15:59That's Simon.

0:16:01 > 0:16:05Hello, sir. Simon. Very nice to meet you.

0:16:06 > 0:16:08That's Craig with the camera.

0:16:08 > 0:16:11Safe, safe. You're safe, means it's OK.

0:16:11 > 0:16:15'They were a bit camera shy to begin with, but it wasn't long

0:16:15 > 0:16:18'before the farmers produced some weed, and they all began to relax.'

0:16:20 > 0:16:23'Even farmers coming from other fields didn't seem to

0:16:23 > 0:16:25'mind our presence.'

0:16:25 > 0:16:28Are you all right there, sir? Good afternoon to you.

0:16:28 > 0:16:29Good afternoon.

0:16:29 > 0:16:32Completely different to the reaction we would get

0:16:32 > 0:16:35if we tried to go to marijuana plantations in Central America,

0:16:35 > 0:16:40for example, where we would be quite likely to encounter guards

0:16:40 > 0:16:43with assault rifles, and possibly would have been shot

0:16:43 > 0:16:45twice in the head and dumped by the side of the road.

0:16:45 > 0:16:47There's none of that here.

0:16:47 > 0:16:50This is not marijuana being grown by organised crime,

0:16:50 > 0:16:53it's marijuana being grown by farmers.

0:16:53 > 0:16:56'After we'd hung out with them for a while,

0:16:56 > 0:16:58'one of the farmers agreed to talk.'

0:16:58 > 0:17:00Do you make a lot of money from growing marijuana?

0:17:06 > 0:17:11Come on, come on. We want to know whether you're a rich man.

0:17:11 > 0:17:13This is a T-shirt that's seen better days,

0:17:13 > 0:17:17but you might have your Armani suit back at your home.

0:17:17 > 0:17:20When you say "a lot of money" how are you...?

0:17:20 > 0:17:22- How are you defining that?- Yeah.

0:17:22 > 0:17:23Yeah, fair point, fair point.

0:17:23 > 0:17:26I'm presuming you make a lot more money growing marijuana than

0:17:26 > 0:17:27you do growing bananas?

0:17:27 > 0:17:28- Obviously.- Right.

0:17:59 > 0:18:03But nobody's bought a yacht or a Bentley?

0:18:19 > 0:18:23The way you're saying that it's as if it's just another crop.

0:18:25 > 0:18:26A green gold.

0:18:26 > 0:18:28It is. It is.

0:18:30 > 0:18:34'There are thought to be up to 3,000 cannabis farmers on the island.

0:18:34 > 0:18:39'Many are hoping their trade in green gold will soon be legal.

0:18:39 > 0:18:42'There's a global trend towards decriminalising the growing

0:18:42 > 0:18:44'and use of marijuana.

0:18:44 > 0:18:47'Farmers here think they're well placed to export to the US

0:18:47 > 0:18:49'and the rest of the world.'

0:18:49 > 0:18:52'It's a key issue across the Caribbean region.'

0:19:01 > 0:19:06If it's legalised you'll be allowed to legally export it

0:19:06 > 0:19:09from St Vincent. You could make a lot of money from that.

0:19:11 > 0:19:13How?

0:19:28 > 0:19:30'Thanks to Bob Marley and reggae,

0:19:30 > 0:19:33'many associate the Caribbean with cannabis, however,

0:19:33 > 0:19:37'it's illegal here and the vast majority of people don't use it.

0:19:37 > 0:19:39'But it's not just local farmers who think

0:19:39 > 0:19:41'legalisation would be a good idea.'

0:19:41 > 0:19:43- Afternoon. - How are you doing?

0:19:43 > 0:19:44- How are you?- I'm good.

0:19:44 > 0:19:48We're here to see the Prime Minister. We're from BBC Television.

0:19:48 > 0:19:50'The desire for a change in the law now extends

0:19:50 > 0:19:52'right to the top of the island.'

0:19:52 > 0:19:54Prime Minister.

0:19:54 > 0:19:58Dr Ralph Gonsalves has been St Vincent's Prime Minister since 2001.

0:19:58 > 0:19:59We're happy you're here.

0:19:59 > 0:20:01So this is your official home?

0:20:01 > 0:20:04This is the official residence of the Prime Minister.

0:20:04 > 0:20:06Goodness me. Who have you seen in this room?

0:20:06 > 0:20:09Many, many important people.

0:20:09 > 0:20:12That picture was given to me by Fidel.

0:20:12 > 0:20:14- By Fidel Castro?- Yes.

0:20:14 > 0:20:15And what a view!

0:20:15 > 0:20:17It's a fantastic view.

0:20:17 > 0:20:18That's not bad, is it?

0:20:19 > 0:20:22'Several countries and more than 20 American states have now

0:20:22 > 0:20:26'decriminalised recreational or medical use of marijuana.

0:20:26 > 0:20:30'Hundreds of American farms are now legally growing cannabis.

0:20:30 > 0:20:32'Dr Gonsalves believes it's time for St Vincent

0:20:32 > 0:20:36'to start competing or the Caribbean could miss out.'

0:20:36 > 0:20:39The current state of the law,

0:20:39 > 0:20:41it ought to be reformed.

0:20:42 > 0:20:45And that is part of the conversation which we are having,

0:20:45 > 0:20:49first in respect of medical marijuana, and also in respect

0:20:49 > 0:20:54of possibly decriminalising for small quantities.

0:20:54 > 0:20:57What you're setting out there is the sort of different levels

0:20:57 > 0:21:01of reduction that could happen or dilution to the current laws.

0:21:01 > 0:21:05- Yes.- There's allowing marijuana for medical purposes.

0:21:05 > 0:21:09- Yes.- There's decriminalising use of marijuana,

0:21:09 > 0:21:11- the small levels of use of marijuana.- Yes.

0:21:11 > 0:21:14And then, of course, there's completely legalising

0:21:14 > 0:21:18marijuana use, production, exportation, etc.

0:21:18 > 0:21:20That would be at the extreme end, wouldn't it?

0:21:20 > 0:21:22Yes, well, what we'll have to...

0:21:22 > 0:21:25Clearly, if we dilly and dally,

0:21:25 > 0:21:28if we procrastinate too long

0:21:28 > 0:21:30you can find that...

0:21:32 > 0:21:34..we are importing...

0:21:36 > 0:21:42..pharmaceutical products with a marijuana base when we,

0:21:42 > 0:21:46in fact, grow it in our own region,

0:21:46 > 0:21:49and we can't make any money from it.

0:21:49 > 0:21:51'The climate in the Caribbean means

0:21:51 > 0:21:54'this is an ideal area to grow marijuana.'

0:22:01 > 0:22:02'Cannabis from St Vincent

0:22:02 > 0:22:05'is said to be among the best quality on the planet.

0:22:05 > 0:22:08'Dr Gonsalves is lobbying neighbours to consider

0:22:08 > 0:22:11'changing the law across the entire region.

0:22:11 > 0:22:14'If marijuana is going to be legalised in much of the world,

0:22:14 > 0:22:17'he wants his farmers to make a killing.'

0:22:26 > 0:22:29'Think of the Caribbean and you think of islands,

0:22:29 > 0:22:32'but my journey was taking me around the Caribbean Sea,

0:22:32 > 0:22:36'and its waters also lap the beaches of South and Central America.

0:22:36 > 0:22:39'My next stop was Venezuela.'

0:22:39 > 0:22:40Ah!

0:22:41 > 0:22:43So we've arrived in Venezuela.

0:22:43 > 0:22:45You might be wondering why I'm here.

0:22:45 > 0:22:47It's not traditionally thought of as being a Caribbean country,

0:22:47 > 0:22:50but it is. And, in fact,

0:22:50 > 0:22:55it's got the longest Caribbean Sea coastline of any nation.

0:23:00 > 0:23:04So we're in the car, we're heading in to Caracas, the capital.

0:23:04 > 0:23:08We've got Virginia, who is going to be guiding us around Venezuela.

0:23:08 > 0:23:09Hi.

0:23:09 > 0:23:13Did you just say "hi" in a sort of shy, camera way?

0:23:13 > 0:23:14Sort of. I'll get better.

0:23:16 > 0:23:19Look at that. You suddenly emerge into the city.

0:23:21 > 0:23:24'Venezuela should be one of the richest countries on Earth.

0:23:24 > 0:23:27'It has the largest proven oil reserves in the world and has

0:23:27 > 0:23:31'earned more than a trillion dollars from oil in the past 20 years.

0:23:32 > 0:23:35'Until a few years ago it was led by the charismatic left-wing

0:23:35 > 0:23:38'firebrand, Hugo Chavez.

0:23:38 > 0:23:41'He'd been elected partly as a reaction against America's

0:23:41 > 0:23:44'meddling in South and Central America.

0:23:44 > 0:23:47'Chavez used some of the oil money to reduce extreme poverty

0:23:47 > 0:23:49'and said he'd create a socialist utopia.

0:23:51 > 0:23:53'There is government funded housing for some,

0:23:53 > 0:23:56'yet because of gobsmacking economic mismanagement

0:23:56 > 0:24:00'one in three people in oil-rich Venezuela are poor.

0:24:00 > 0:24:05'Since Chavez died in 2013, things have gone from bad to worse.

0:24:05 > 0:24:07'Venezuela's now a country in turmoil.'

0:24:08 > 0:24:11We need to be a little bit careful filming out on the street,

0:24:11 > 0:24:13I think I'm right in saying. Don't we, Virginia?

0:24:13 > 0:24:17Yes. The first time I came here, neighbours kept on telling me

0:24:17 > 0:24:20to put my camera away because I was going to be shot from...

0:24:20 > 0:24:21You know, by people from above.

0:24:21 > 0:24:23- Shot?- Shot.

0:24:23 > 0:24:24Bloody hell.

0:24:29 > 0:24:32'Caracas is one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

0:24:32 > 0:24:36'We were heading into a notorious building called the Tower of David.'

0:24:37 > 0:24:39What's with the motorbikes?

0:24:39 > 0:24:42They're going to drive us

0:24:42 > 0:24:45up to the 7th or 8th floor just to sort of make the hike shorter.

0:24:45 > 0:24:48OK.

0:24:57 > 0:25:00This is a sort of unfinished car park by the look of it,

0:25:00 > 0:25:02multistorey car park.

0:25:08 > 0:25:10And this is where we get out.

0:25:15 > 0:25:17Virginia, what is this place?

0:25:17 > 0:25:21Well, it was originally meant to be a bank,

0:25:21 > 0:25:24one of the leading sort of banking institutions of the country,

0:25:24 > 0:25:29but after it went broke it was abandoned and then taken over by...

0:25:29 > 0:25:34I don't know, close to 200 people that turned it in to their homes.

0:25:34 > 0:25:36So it's an abandoned skyscraper?

0:25:36 > 0:25:39It's a squatters' skyscraper, yes.

0:25:39 > 0:25:41'Driven by poverty and a lack of proper housing,

0:25:41 > 0:25:44'the number of squatters here quickly grew.'

0:25:48 > 0:25:50Oh, my God, look at that!

0:25:50 > 0:25:53'Almost 3,000 people have been living here.

0:25:53 > 0:25:55'Families have raised children in the tower,

0:25:55 > 0:25:57'carrying everything for their flats up by hand.'

0:25:58 > 0:26:00That's astonishing!

0:26:00 > 0:26:03'The tower has had a fearsome reputation.

0:26:03 > 0:26:06'Violent drug and kidnap gangs operated from here.'

0:26:07 > 0:26:09My God, look at this.

0:26:09 > 0:26:11'And there are stories of people being pushed to their deaths

0:26:11 > 0:26:13'tens of storeys below.'

0:26:18 > 0:26:21Imagine bringing children up right next to this.

0:26:24 > 0:26:27I think it shows the level of desperation, really.

0:26:27 > 0:26:29That families have been prepared to do this.

0:26:29 > 0:26:34This is not, by a long stretch, a safe environment

0:26:34 > 0:26:38to raise your youngsters in the sense that, you know,

0:26:38 > 0:26:40they could fall down the stairs,

0:26:40 > 0:26:42they could fall off the edge of the building!

0:26:42 > 0:26:46Look, just over here, they could fall through a gap.

0:26:46 > 0:26:48Look.

0:26:48 > 0:26:49This is not good.

0:26:50 > 0:26:53And yet, for the people who live here

0:26:53 > 0:26:56it was better than life outside.

0:26:56 > 0:27:00Safer here in this shanty town in the sky

0:27:00 > 0:27:02than out there in the city.

0:27:02 > 0:27:04'I found the tower astonishing.

0:27:04 > 0:27:07'In the absence of government help, people got on with organising

0:27:07 > 0:27:09'things themselves, even opening businesses.'

0:27:09 > 0:27:11There's a little shop there.

0:27:13 > 0:27:15'From barbers' shops to nurseries,

0:27:15 > 0:27:17'the tower was like a vertical high street.'

0:27:19 > 0:27:21What's going on here?

0:27:21 > 0:27:23People are making cookie cutters.

0:27:23 > 0:27:25That's a whole production line.

0:27:25 > 0:27:27Making cookie cutters!

0:27:27 > 0:27:30Goodness me.

0:27:30 > 0:27:33'Despite an intermittent supply of electricity and water,

0:27:33 > 0:27:36'there's even industry in the tower.'

0:27:36 > 0:27:38Wow.

0:27:38 > 0:27:41You've got a whole factory going on in here.

0:27:41 > 0:27:44We've interrupted you during lunch. I'm very sorry.

0:27:53 > 0:27:55It looks as though you're doing pretty well.

0:27:55 > 0:27:57How many cookie cutters are you making?

0:28:01 > 0:28:0225,000 a week!

0:28:02 > 0:28:04That's...

0:28:04 > 0:28:06His fingers went... Thumbs went up like that.

0:28:06 > 0:28:09Could you have achieved this if you hadn't been living in the tower?

0:28:30 > 0:28:33Look. Wilmer here has just given us business cards.

0:28:33 > 0:28:34He's such a businessman.

0:28:34 > 0:28:38I think he's thinking about exporting to the European Union.

0:28:38 > 0:28:41We might be able to go in to business together importing

0:28:41 > 0:28:44cookie cutters in to the UK maybe.

0:28:47 > 0:28:51'People are currently being rehoused out of the tower, but residents

0:28:51 > 0:28:53'have taken an enormous pride in the place,

0:28:53 > 0:28:55'creating order out of chaos....

0:28:55 > 0:28:58There's a beauty parlour on this floor.

0:29:01 > 0:29:04'They have committees to keep charge of cleaning and security,

0:29:04 > 0:29:06'a real community.'

0:29:06 > 0:29:09It's truly inspiring that they were able to build not only,

0:29:09 > 0:29:12you know, houses out of bricks, but also build a sort of strong

0:29:12 > 0:29:16community with a strong sense of solidarity among them.

0:29:16 > 0:29:19You know, they really do look other each other's neighbours.

0:29:19 > 0:29:21In a way, this speaks of a more successful

0:29:21 > 0:29:26system of organising than most Venezuelans have outside.

0:29:29 > 0:29:32'There is wealth in this country and in this city,

0:29:32 > 0:29:35'but it's in the hands of just a few.

0:29:35 > 0:29:38'Most people are poor and struggling.

0:29:38 > 0:29:42'Despite Venezuela's oil wealth, there are shortages in the shops

0:29:42 > 0:29:44'and a lack of decent health care.

0:29:44 > 0:29:46'Virginia took me to the

0:29:46 > 0:29:50'Perez de Leon Hospital which helps serve the largest slum in Caracas.'

0:29:52 > 0:29:54Goodness me. It looks like a prison.

0:29:54 > 0:29:56'We met Dr Mariela Formigoni.'

0:29:58 > 0:30:03What's with the sort of prison level of security here?

0:30:03 > 0:30:04Why is that needed?

0:30:30 > 0:30:34'Around 20,000 people are murdered in Venezuela each year.

0:30:34 > 0:30:36'Outside of a war zone,

0:30:36 > 0:30:39'Caracas has the second highest murder rate in the world.

0:30:39 > 0:30:42'It's a symptom of poverty, ineffective policing,

0:30:42 > 0:30:44'and failing government.

0:30:44 > 0:30:47'But dealing with violence is just one of the challenges

0:30:47 > 0:30:48'facing this hospital.

0:30:48 > 0:30:51'The bigger issue here is how to treat patients,

0:30:51 > 0:30:54'despite shortages of doctors and even medicines.'

0:30:56 > 0:31:00How easy is it for you to get basic drugs

0:31:00 > 0:31:02and medication for your children?

0:31:31 > 0:31:35That's a basic painkiller. You can't even get basic painkillers?

0:31:48 > 0:31:52'Of course, it's the poorest here who are suffering the most.'

0:31:56 > 0:31:58I'm slightly blown away,

0:31:58 > 0:32:02because everything we see here we have to see through...

0:32:02 > 0:32:06While at the same time remembering how incredibly rich

0:32:06 > 0:32:09this country is supposed to be.

0:32:10 > 0:32:13This is not the hospital of a wealthy country.

0:32:17 > 0:32:20'It's not just hospitals that are breaking point.

0:32:20 > 0:32:23'There are queues for food, building supplies, even loo paper.

0:32:25 > 0:32:27'It's a consequence of government restrictions on

0:32:27 > 0:32:31'foreign currency which mean businesses don't want to import,

0:32:31 > 0:32:35'and Soviet-era controls on prices that mean shops don't want to sell.

0:32:36 > 0:32:38'The country felt close to collapse.

0:32:46 > 0:32:50'Next day, we left Caracas and headed towards the Colombian border,

0:32:50 > 0:32:52'in Venezuela's Wild West.

0:32:53 > 0:32:57'We were heading in to a tricky area, so we'd swapped hire cars

0:32:57 > 0:33:00'for more discreet local wheels,

0:33:00 > 0:33:03'complete with a shag pile dashboard.'

0:33:12 > 0:33:15We're going to hop out. Honestly, this is quite interesting.

0:33:18 > 0:33:21But he does it right to the top, doesn't he?

0:33:22 > 0:33:23OK, so he's put 68 litres in.

0:33:23 > 0:33:25How much is that costing you?

0:33:27 > 0:33:29It cost 6 Ps to fill up the tank right now,

0:33:29 > 0:33:31so that close to a US dollar.

0:33:31 > 0:33:34- One US dollar? - To fill up a 60 litre tank, yes.

0:33:36 > 0:33:39'And many well-connected people here can fill a tank even cheaper.'

0:33:41 > 0:33:45What you pay for a litre is what I pay a whole year to fill

0:33:45 > 0:33:47up my tank once or twice a month.

0:33:49 > 0:33:51An entire year?

0:33:51 > 0:33:52Yeah.

0:33:52 > 0:33:56My yearly budget for petrol is what you spend in one litre.

0:33:56 > 0:33:58This is extra, extra, extra bonkers, isn't it?

0:34:03 > 0:34:06'Petrol here is the cheapest in the world

0:34:06 > 0:34:08'and is sold for far less than it costs to produce,

0:34:08 > 0:34:12'thanks to a government subsidy introduced decades ago.'

0:34:13 > 0:34:17'The cost of subsidising fuel is gradually bankrupting

0:34:17 > 0:34:19'the country, but no government has been brave enough

0:34:19 > 0:34:23'to raise prices, even though the subsidy benefits the rich,

0:34:23 > 0:34:26'who have more cars, rather than the poor.'

0:34:31 > 0:34:36Look. There's a nodding donkey just here in this suburban neighbourhood.

0:34:41 > 0:34:44There's a gentleman just over there. Could we just ask him

0:34:44 > 0:34:47how often, does it pump all the time?

0:34:56 > 0:34:58Do you see the benefits from it?

0:35:21 > 0:35:24I don't understand where the money's gone.

0:35:24 > 0:35:26This has been pumping for years.

0:35:26 > 0:35:29Venezuela, it's the biggest...

0:35:29 > 0:35:32One of the biggest oil producers in the world.

0:35:32 > 0:35:34Where does it go? Where does the money go?

0:35:46 > 0:35:51'It's extraordinary. Venezuela and Venezuelans should be rich.

0:35:51 > 0:35:54'It's unclear where the country's oil wealth has gone.

0:35:54 > 0:35:57'Much has been stolen or lost through inefficiency and rampant

0:35:57 > 0:36:01'corruption, and vast sums have been siphoned off when petrol is

0:36:01 > 0:36:04'smuggled across the border to Colombia, where I was headed next.'

0:36:06 > 0:36:08What's going on here?

0:36:08 > 0:36:11Well, basically, the kids are bringing over gas

0:36:11 > 0:36:14and they're going to do a quick refill for this guy.

0:36:14 > 0:36:18'Because of Venezuelan subsidies, petrol costs a hundred times

0:36:18 > 0:36:20'more across the border in Colombia,

0:36:20 > 0:36:23'so profits for smuggling are huge.

0:36:23 > 0:36:26'There are supposed to be controls and restrictions on petrol sales

0:36:26 > 0:36:29'near the border, but we saw countless drivers filling

0:36:29 > 0:36:32'huge tanks they would take to Colombia and sell.

0:36:35 > 0:36:38'Our route to the border was a smugglers' highway.'

0:36:41 > 0:36:43Look, they're turning off.

0:36:43 > 0:36:45They're just going to go down...

0:36:45 > 0:36:47Well, a little track down to the side...

0:36:51 > 0:36:54..which probably means there's a checkpoint just up ahead.

0:36:54 > 0:36:56Yeah, I can even see it!

0:36:56 > 0:36:58'We went through numerous checkpoints

0:36:58 > 0:37:00'on the way to the border,

0:37:00 > 0:37:02'but they were clearly not much of a deterrent.'

0:37:06 > 0:37:11They've obviously just gone round the checkpoint to get away

0:37:11 > 0:37:13with whatever it is they're smuggling.

0:37:13 > 0:37:17'Guns, drugs and food, as well as petrol, are smuggled here.

0:37:17 > 0:37:19'Huge profits are at stake

0:37:19 > 0:37:21'and the border region has become extremely dangerous.'

0:37:21 > 0:37:23Oh, it's, like, an army convoy.

0:37:24 > 0:37:27It was a contingent of the National Guard.

0:37:27 > 0:37:30I just heard there was actually a violent confrontation yesterday,

0:37:30 > 0:37:36and a shoot-out between smugglers and the National Guard.

0:37:36 > 0:37:38'Gangs, the police and politicians are all said

0:37:38 > 0:37:40'to be involved with the smuggling.

0:37:40 > 0:37:43'As we got closer to the border, it seemed everyone was at it.'

0:37:43 > 0:37:45And all those there!

0:37:50 > 0:37:53Amazing! We're just off the main road away from the checkpoint

0:37:53 > 0:37:56and this is all completely illegal here.

0:38:00 > 0:38:04It's like a square mile of black market illegal madness.

0:38:05 > 0:38:07Everybody is trading fuel here.

0:38:09 > 0:38:12'It's been officially estimated that roughly £30 million worth

0:38:12 > 0:38:17'of fuel is smuggled out of Venezuela every single week.

0:38:17 > 0:38:20'But the government here has been a bit hopeless at preventing

0:38:20 > 0:38:22'the national coffers being bled dry.'

0:38:25 > 0:38:28We were spotted by one of the guys, so we can't do a drive around again.

0:38:28 > 0:38:31OK, the locks just went down, is that because he's worried for us?

0:38:31 > 0:38:34Yes. It might get a bit aggressive.

0:38:34 > 0:38:38We were spotted as foreigners or as TV people?

0:38:38 > 0:38:40TV people.

0:38:40 > 0:38:41OK, not good.

0:38:44 > 0:38:48'The fuel subsidy here costs more than government spending

0:38:48 > 0:38:50'on education and health care combined.

0:38:50 > 0:38:53'As we headed towards the border, our driver admitted

0:38:53 > 0:38:54'he was also a smuggler,

0:38:54 > 0:38:57'and even he was angry and worried about the state of the country.'

0:38:59 > 0:39:03So how often will you do a run across?

0:39:03 > 0:39:05TRANSLATION: Once or twice a day.

0:39:05 > 0:39:10And how much money can a person make with a car like this?

0:39:14 > 0:39:17It's very lucrative for doing almost nothing.

0:39:17 > 0:39:19And it's easy money.

0:39:24 > 0:39:28Normally, I can sit here driving for two or three hours

0:39:28 > 0:39:31and I can make as much as a professional in this country

0:39:31 > 0:39:33makes in a month.

0:39:35 > 0:39:38Where do you think this country will be in five years' time?

0:39:42 > 0:39:45Every day, I think about what this country used to be like

0:39:45 > 0:39:47and what it's like now.

0:39:47 > 0:39:50From top to bottom, everything is bad.

0:39:51 > 0:39:54It's difficult to see a future for Venezuela.

0:39:59 > 0:40:02We're getting close to the border with Colombia now

0:40:02 > 0:40:05and I'm coming to the conclusion that Venezuela is

0:40:05 > 0:40:09one of the worst-managed countries that I have ever visited.

0:40:09 > 0:40:13I've been in poorer places and I've been in war-torn countries,

0:40:13 > 0:40:16but I don't think I've been in one which has got quite this much

0:40:16 > 0:40:20natural wealth, and yet is being so badly run.

0:40:24 > 0:40:26What a completely lawless situation.

0:40:29 > 0:40:32Right at the V that marks the end of Venezuela.

0:40:32 > 0:40:36'It's a beautiful country with so much going for it.

0:40:36 > 0:40:39'But, to be honest, the muppetry of the government here meant

0:40:39 > 0:40:41'I wasn't sad to move on.'

0:40:41 > 0:40:44Here we go, Colombian immigration right here.

0:40:47 > 0:40:48There's a cop here smoking a fag.

0:40:58 > 0:41:01Virginia, thank you so much. May we have a little...?

0:41:01 > 0:41:03Of course. Good luck.

0:41:17 > 0:41:20'Until recently, Colombia was being torn apart by decades

0:41:20 > 0:41:24'of violence, fuelled by the multibillion pound cocaine trade.

0:41:27 > 0:41:30'But over the last ten years, life has really improved here,

0:41:30 > 0:41:33'and after Venezuela, Colombia felt like a bit of a relief.'

0:41:35 > 0:41:37Is she selling coffee? Can we get one?

0:41:41 > 0:41:45Tres. Tres.

0:41:46 > 0:41:48"Cafe for the gringo," she said.

0:41:50 > 0:41:53Look at this. This is a motorway service station in Colombia.

0:41:57 > 0:41:59- Gracias.- Gracias.

0:42:04 > 0:42:07'We headed west, along Colombia's Caribbean coast,

0:42:07 > 0:42:10'towards an area officially called "the Banana Zone".'

0:42:15 > 0:42:16Look at all of them!

0:42:18 > 0:42:22'Bananas are one of the five most important crops in the world.'

0:42:24 > 0:42:25We've arrived.

0:42:25 > 0:42:29'In the UK we eat an astonishing 5 billion bananas a year.

0:42:29 > 0:42:32'A quarter come from Colombia.'

0:42:32 > 0:42:34Mathilde, what's with the blue bags?

0:42:36 > 0:42:39TRANSLATION: There's a pesticide which protects the bananas,

0:42:39 > 0:42:41so we can produce perfect bananas.

0:42:43 > 0:42:46'Around 80% of people in this part of Colombia are involved

0:42:46 > 0:42:48'in the banana trade.'

0:42:48 > 0:42:50OK, thank you, Mathilde. A very sharp knife.

0:42:50 > 0:42:51'Time for me to join them.'

0:42:54 > 0:42:56- Take the leaves off first?- Yeah.

0:42:57 > 0:42:58Sorry.

0:42:58 > 0:43:02'Much of the industry here has signed up to the Fair Trade scheme.'

0:43:02 > 0:43:03Bueno?

0:43:04 > 0:43:06Now hang on, that's got the bananas on.

0:43:06 > 0:43:08'It ensures workers receive better wages

0:43:08 > 0:43:10'and improved working conditions.'

0:43:11 > 0:43:13Ah!

0:43:13 > 0:43:15Bloody hell, that's heavy!

0:43:23 > 0:43:25This bloke's a train engine. Bueno.

0:43:31 > 0:43:35'Some of the farm workers here, including Mathilde Castro,

0:43:35 > 0:43:38'used to be farmers themselves.

0:43:38 > 0:43:40'They were part of a co-operative that owned

0:43:40 > 0:43:43'and ran its own banana plantation.

0:43:43 > 0:43:46'But they were sucked in to the violence of Colombia's civil

0:43:46 > 0:43:49'conflict, when guerrilla groups fought

0:43:49 > 0:43:51'against the national government

0:43:51 > 0:43:54'and the country descended into near-chaos.

0:43:54 > 0:43:56'The conflict tore their lives apart.'

0:44:04 > 0:44:08TRANSLATION: Some men came and killed my partner and his two brothers.

0:44:10 > 0:44:14We were threatened and told if we stayed we'd be killed,

0:44:14 > 0:44:15so we had to leave.

0:44:18 > 0:44:19Who did this?

0:44:21 > 0:44:22The paramilitaries.

0:44:24 > 0:44:28So these are the right-wing paramilitaries who were often

0:44:28 > 0:44:31started by corporations, I think, weren't they?

0:44:31 > 0:44:35And they came and murdered your husband and stole your land?

0:44:36 > 0:44:40Some of them have admitted to the crimes they committed.

0:44:40 > 0:44:43Why did they do it? For the land, that's why.

0:44:59 > 0:45:02'During the worst years of fighting here, corporations

0:45:02 > 0:45:06'and businesses often connived with or even established violent

0:45:06 > 0:45:09'paramilitary groups to protect their interests

0:45:09 > 0:45:11'and even kill their enemies and claim more land.

0:45:13 > 0:45:16Some of the banana corporations who've been operating here

0:45:16 > 0:45:20have got questions to answer about their role in

0:45:20 > 0:45:23what's afflicted this country.

0:45:23 > 0:45:26One of the big banana multi-nationals, Chiquita,

0:45:26 > 0:45:30they were fined and given a multimillion pound fine just

0:45:30 > 0:45:32a few years ago because they confessed

0:45:32 > 0:45:37they had been supporting, funding paramilitary groups here that

0:45:37 > 0:45:41were targeting banana farm workers and trade unionists.

0:45:44 > 0:45:46'Multi-national corporations were involved

0:45:46 > 0:45:50'and implicated in the half a century of violence in Colombia

0:45:50 > 0:45:53'during which hundreds of thousands of people died.

0:46:00 > 0:46:05'I continued my journey along the coast to the Port of Santa Marta,

0:46:05 > 0:46:08'from where many of Colombia's bananas are shipped abroad.

0:46:10 > 0:46:12'Although the Colombian government has had great success

0:46:12 > 0:46:16'tackling the cocaine trade, it's still a major problem.

0:46:19 > 0:46:22'Drug gangs will hide cocaine they're smuggling to Europe

0:46:22 > 0:46:25'and the United States inside banana shipments.

0:46:32 > 0:46:34'I met Colonel Romel Bernate,

0:46:34 > 0:46:37'who's in charge of trying to stop the smugglers.'

0:46:38 > 0:46:40So we've got an inspection going on here.

0:46:44 > 0:46:47TRANSLATION: We take them all down and then search through each crate.

0:46:49 > 0:46:53We found cocaine in with the bananas and in the shipping containers.

0:46:55 > 0:46:59What's the biggest find you've made, then, in recent years?

0:47:01 > 0:47:05In February 2014, we found two tonnes of cocaine.

0:47:06 > 0:47:08Two tonnes of cocaine?

0:47:08 > 0:47:11How much is that worth when it gets to Europe?

0:47:12 > 0:47:1488 to 90 million.

0:47:21 > 0:47:24We've found drugs inside the wall

0:47:24 > 0:47:26and we've found drugs inside this section.

0:47:28 > 0:47:32They devise ways of removing this bit and modifying the containers.

0:47:34 > 0:47:38And they try to hide them inside the refrigeration unit.

0:47:39 > 0:47:42The bananas need to be kept cool on the journey, which is

0:47:42 > 0:47:45why we have to open up all of this.

0:47:45 > 0:47:48It must be such an enormous challenge for you because,

0:47:48 > 0:47:54presumably, if a gang could fill just this area here with cocaine

0:47:54 > 0:48:00and get that past your search teams they make an enormous sum of money.

0:48:02 > 0:48:03A lot of money.

0:48:03 > 0:48:08A single kilo in Europe can fetch up to 59,000.

0:48:09 > 0:48:11That says it all really, doesn't it?

0:48:11 > 0:48:13I mean, that is the point.

0:48:17 > 0:48:20'Thanks to better policing and detection, the cultivation

0:48:20 > 0:48:24'of cocaine in Colombia has more than halved since its peak.

0:48:24 > 0:48:27'Much of the illegal production has moved away from the Caribbean

0:48:27 > 0:48:30'region to Peru and Bolivia.

0:48:37 > 0:48:40'Colombia's violent reputation continues to put off foreign

0:48:40 > 0:48:43'visitors, but it's a stunning country.

0:48:44 > 0:48:47'I headed along the coast towards the last destination on this

0:48:47 > 0:48:50'part of my journey around the Caribbean.

0:48:51 > 0:48:54'My route was taking me in to the Sierra Nevada Mountains,

0:48:54 > 0:48:57'the highest coastal mountain range in the world.

0:48:58 > 0:49:00'It's home to an ancient people.'

0:49:01 > 0:49:04We're heading in to the land of the Kogi people.

0:49:07 > 0:49:11Now, the Kogi are the most intact surviving civilisation

0:49:11 > 0:49:15from the time before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas.

0:49:17 > 0:49:21'When the Spanish invaders first arrived here, most of the indigenous

0:49:21 > 0:49:26'people of the Americas were wiped out, often by the gun or the sword.

0:49:26 > 0:49:30'But tens of millions died from diseases they had no immunity to.

0:49:30 > 0:49:33'But the Kogi retreated high in to the Sierra Nevada, which is

0:49:33 > 0:49:35'where they've remained.'

0:49:37 > 0:49:39Look at this.

0:49:39 > 0:49:42We're arriving on the edge of a community, a village, it looks like.

0:49:44 > 0:49:48'There are roughly 20,000 Kogi people in these mountains.

0:49:48 > 0:49:49'They hunt and gather,

0:49:49 > 0:49:51'but they're also a settled community,

0:49:51 > 0:49:53'who have farmed here for centuries.

0:49:55 > 0:49:59'Unlike many indigenous communities around the world, the Kogi

0:49:59 > 0:50:02'are choosing to remain largely isolated from the modern world.

0:50:02 > 0:50:05'There wasn't even a football T-shirt in sight.

0:50:06 > 0:50:11'It's extremely rare for the Kogi to allow a TV crew into their world.

0:50:11 > 0:50:14'They let me visit for a simple reason - to show us

0:50:14 > 0:50:16'how they live and to warn that their way of life

0:50:16 > 0:50:18'is now being threatened.'

0:50:19 > 0:50:23This is right up there with the most incredible places I've ever been.

0:50:24 > 0:50:27'The Kogi wanted to show me what was at stake, so they took me into

0:50:27 > 0:50:32'their back garden - the pristine forests of the Sierra Nevada.

0:50:35 > 0:50:40'These misty mountains are home to extraordinary bio-diversity,

0:50:40 > 0:50:43'including the most important concentration of threatened

0:50:43 > 0:50:46'mammals, amphibians and birds on Earth.'

0:50:51 > 0:50:55TRANSLATION: We don't damage the hills, the caves or the trees,

0:50:55 > 0:50:56because they give us life.

0:51:00 > 0:51:02These are the laws that Mother Nature has given us.

0:51:09 > 0:51:13'The Kogi believe the Sierra Nevada is the heart of the world.'

0:51:15 > 0:51:16Look at this!

0:51:20 > 0:51:22Absolutely spectacular.

0:51:28 > 0:51:31OK. Ooh.

0:51:44 > 0:51:49So it turns out that the village we were in is more of a gathering

0:51:49 > 0:51:54place for farmers to assemble, farmers from the community.

0:51:54 > 0:51:59So each of the people we've met has a little farm like this,

0:51:59 > 0:52:03but they go to meet outsiders down in the village.

0:52:22 > 0:52:24This is a job made for me. OK.

0:52:28 > 0:52:30Which one?

0:52:31 > 0:52:33Ah.

0:52:35 > 0:52:38Ooh. Flipping heck.

0:52:38 > 0:52:40Have you little ones seen tall foreigners before?

0:52:46 > 0:52:48Lemonade, Kogi style.

0:52:52 > 0:52:54Wow, it smells incredible.

0:52:57 > 0:52:58Mmm.

0:53:00 > 0:53:02I don't think it's alcoholic.

0:53:02 > 0:53:04- Any alcohol?- No.

0:53:07 > 0:53:09I know I mustn't drink it all, but it is very good.

0:53:21 > 0:53:25So this is home tonight, the village school.

0:53:25 > 0:53:31We've got inflatable mattresses inside and mosquito nets to keep

0:53:31 > 0:53:36out the buzzing mozzies, but also we're going to tuck them underneath

0:53:36 > 0:53:40the mattresses and hopefully that will keep out the snakes, as well.

0:53:48 > 0:53:51THUNDER RUMBLES

0:53:54 > 0:53:57COCKEREL CROWS

0:54:07 > 0:54:10It wasn't a horrific night but things -

0:54:10 > 0:54:11COCKEREL CROWS

0:54:11 > 0:54:16cockerels started crowing next to our heads

0:54:16 > 0:54:18at about quarter past three.

0:54:18 > 0:54:20I hate cockerels.

0:54:23 > 0:54:26'The Kogi call the rest of us their younger brother,

0:54:26 > 0:54:29'and they believe we're threatening their very existence.

0:54:30 > 0:54:33'I went to talk with Mamo Luntana, a Kogi elder.'

0:54:36 > 0:54:39What I want to know is how younger brother expects us

0:54:39 > 0:54:43all to live when you come from the other side of the world

0:54:43 > 0:54:47and destroy Mother Earth so that multi-national companies can profit.

0:54:50 > 0:54:53Younger brother has caused so much damage.

0:54:53 > 0:54:56River levels have fallen, the rains don't come when they should.

0:54:56 > 0:54:59Crop seasons are changing.

0:54:59 > 0:55:03Only when younger brother stops can this life carry on as normal.

0:55:08 > 0:55:12'We're used to being warned about our changing climate by scientists,

0:55:12 > 0:55:14'but it's shocking to hear this first-hand

0:55:14 > 0:55:18'evidence of profound change already happening from the leader

0:55:18 > 0:55:22'of a remote people in a remote part of the planet.'

0:55:22 > 0:55:24'And this is something I'm hearing more

0:55:24 > 0:55:26'and more of on my travels around the world.'

0:55:28 > 0:55:30I'm nearly at the end of my journey,

0:55:30 > 0:55:33but we're heading back down to the coast to the sea.

0:55:33 > 0:55:37It's not far, well, not that far anyway as the crow flies.

0:55:37 > 0:55:39It takes a bit of time on these roads. Ah-ah.

0:55:41 > 0:55:43And we've got a vehicle behind that's bringing

0:55:43 > 0:55:44some of the Kogi with us.

0:55:46 > 0:55:49'The Kogi have a series of sacred sites around the area

0:55:49 > 0:55:52'connected by what they call the black line.

0:55:52 > 0:55:54'It's part of their belief system.

0:55:54 > 0:55:58'Many of their sacred sites have been damaged by development.

0:55:58 > 0:56:02'They've now launched a desperate campaign to protect what's left.

0:56:02 > 0:56:06'They took me down to the beach and back to the Caribbean Sea.'

0:56:09 > 0:56:15When you see this power station what do you think as a people?

0:56:36 > 0:56:38You live in the mountains,

0:56:38 > 0:56:40but I sense the sea is very important to you.

0:57:06 > 0:57:10'The Kogi believe our natural world is being destroyed by us.'

0:57:11 > 0:57:13Do you think younger brother will ever listen?

0:57:34 > 0:57:36'There's a desperation in their plea.

0:57:38 > 0:57:43'The Kogi have noticed our world is changing, not by measuring it,

0:57:43 > 0:57:44'but by living in it.'

0:57:55 > 0:57:59It's been an incredible journey,

0:57:59 > 0:58:04from the beaches of Barbados to the mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

0:58:05 > 0:58:09But this is the end of this leg.

0:58:09 > 0:58:11On the next leg, my final leg,

0:58:11 > 0:58:14I'll be travelling up the Caribbean coast of Central America

0:58:14 > 0:58:17and finishing my journey around the Caribbean Sea in Jamaica.

0:58:19 > 0:58:22'Next time - I join a research mission on one of the world's

0:58:22 > 0:58:25'greatest reefs and experience the coral kingdom at night.

0:58:27 > 0:58:30'And I go on patrol in the most dangerous city on the planet.'

0:58:30 > 0:58:34I think he's got a bullet wound on his chest. look at that.

0:58:34 > 0:58:36'Before finishing my Caribbean journey on the beautiful

0:58:36 > 0:58:38'beaches of Jamaica.'