Though we are entitled to be sceptical when authoritarian governments speak of Gangs to justify laws and programmes against Trade Unionists, Indigenous peoples and the poor, the profits from the cocaine business means they do exist. The progressive Petro government of Colombia tried to curtail the trade by closing down favoured ports for export. This however forced the creation of new routes through the Indigenous peoples lands of the Sierra Nevada Santa Marta where battles between rival gangs have involved the use of militarized drones.