Coca trade in spotlight as Colombia peace talks resume

The Colombian government and leftist FARC rebels resumed peace talks Thursday amid differences over coca cultivation, blamed by political leaders for drug-linked violence and killings. "If we agree that coca and cocaine are not the same thing, it seems illogical that to put an end to drug trafficking we should eradicate a plant that can be beneficial to humanity," Ivan Marquez said. Marquez is the second in command at the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has been in talks with the government for more than a year, aiming to end their near 50-year conflict. "Cocaine has become a harmful narcotic that poses serious problems for public health on a global level," Marquez said, adding that drug trafficking was "not an exclusively Colombian, but an international problem."