A coca farming province where the cartel forces former coffee farmers to cultivate coca.
| Content | Number in Province |
|---|---|
| Main Missions | 6 |
| Side Missions | 7 |
- OperatioN: Production
- Chief: Madre Coca
- Ecosystem: Yungas
Tabacal is a province of the Yungas, a mountainous zone covered by a very dense jungle. The mountains and the jungle make it very tough to circulate in. Roads are narrow, steep and dangerous. The province is crossed by the death road, constructed on the slope of the mountain.
The human activity is focused on coca and coffee culture. The fields occupy the bottom of valleys or the clearings carved in the jungle on the slope of the mountain. The capital of the province is the small town of Bella Selva, essentially focused on coca.
Before the Santa Blanca’s arrival, peasants were Cocaleros or coffee planters. The Bolivian company Illapa Café bought the whole production to planters’ cooperatives. A station with a warehouse was installed by Illapa Café to store coffee grains in good conditions and send them by train.
After taking the control of this province, the Santa Blanca took the merchandise station constructed by Illapa Café and used it as main camp in Tabacal.
The Santa Blanca gathered the Cocaleros and proposed to buy their production at a good price. Madre Coca assisted in the meeting and convinced Cocaleros to work for the cartel. The threats of the cartel helped to convince the reluctant ones. After this meeting, the Santa Blanca decided to hand the coca production supervision in this region to Madre Coca.
Finally the Santa Blanca gathered coffee plantation owners and advised them to abandon this type of culture to focus on coca. Most owners accepted, convinced by Madre Coca’s argument. The few that refused rapidly ran away. Families found refuge at La Paz and men joined the Rebellion. As retaliation, their farms were burned.
All the fields in Tabacal grow coca. Once harvested and dried, coca leaves are stored by Santa Blanca in carefully guarded warehouses. The stocks are then sent under high guard to the station. They are stored there, waiting for a train controlled by the Santa Blanca. The coca leaves produced in the near province of Monte Puncu are also sent to this station. Madre Coca verifies by herself the quality of each bag of coca. Once filled with coca bags, about ten wagons leave with a big escort in the direction of Ocoro where the cartel has installed its coca paste labs.
Ruperta Faro, aka Madre Coca (mother coca)
BORN: 14/03/1967 in Tabacal Bolivia
CARTEL POSITION: Co-Head Coca Farmer
She grew up working as a raspachin—a coca picker. It was backbreaking work that blistered her hands and stained them yellow. Over the years she has been shot twice and burned. Her oldest son overdosed on cocaine and her other two made it to America and opened a successful business there. She is iron tough. Everyone respects her and, more importantly, the people of the farms fear her. El Yayo trusts her. She is a very important member of the cartel.