In the heart of South America, an escalating gold fever has sparked a deadly inferno. Colombia finds itself entangled in a relentless civil war, with gold becoming the newest and most dangerous battleground. The pursuit of this precious metal has driven paramilitaries and leftist rebel groups into fierce turf wars, plunging mining regions into chaos. In this relentless struggle for supremacy, hundreds of lives have been uprooted, and the flames of an age-old ideological conflict have been reignited.
The Colombian Army’s helicopter raids on small mining collectives have become a disturbingly common sight, giving rise to accusations of the government favoring powerful business interests while trampling on the rights of vulnerable workers, seemingly with impunity. For many, fleeing their homes is the only option in violently contested lands, while others live in constant fear of losing their livelihoods, freedom, or even their lives. Amidst the chaos, multinational corporations have descended upon the region, eager to capitalize on gold’s soaring value, oftentimes securing arbitrary concessions from the Colombian government, even on sacred indigenous territories.
In this gripping exploration, Fault Lines takes you deep into the heart of Colombia, where the voices of the afflicted resonate. Rural workers and artisan miners, whose ancestors toiled in these mines for generations, now find themselves trapped in a web of uncertainty. Some of them share a lineage with those who were once enslaved during the initial gold rush centuries ago, while others are former coca farmers, forced out of work by the controversial US-led Plan Colombia.
The unfolding tragedy of Colombia’s gold rush exposes the dark underbelly of a nation torn apart by greed, power, and historical injustices. Fault Lines unearths the stories of those caught in the crossfire, shedding light on the human cost of this unrelenting pursuit of wealth. Brace yourself for a gripping tale that delves into the heart of this lethal conflict and uncovers the stark realities faced by those living amidst the gold rush.