‘Blood timber’: western firms fuel conflict and ‘slavery’ in Colombia

Trade in uncertified hardwood illegally logged in Chocó rainforest and imported by US and Europe is financing paramilitaries, says Environmental Investigation AgencyThe Atrato River winds through the dense rainforest of Colombia’s Chocó region for nearly 400 miles (600km) before spilling into the Caribbean Sea. Some of these tropical forests are among the wettest on Earth. Their flooded lowlands and swollen rivers are so impenetrable they have acted as an evolutionary barrier