The US captured and arrested the former leader of Venezuela on the category of "narcoterrorism," which has shifted the questions of coca from a criminal to a geopolitical category to justify the use of the US military. Military interventions are also taking place with US soldiers in Ecuador, and small boats continue to be attacked and destroyed. Coca dynamics are complex and multi9scaled, with Brazilian, Mexican, and European players involved in the trade, while small holders throughout the Western Amazon have been engaged in the production of the plant for more than 5,000 years. Join us to explore the development dynamics that shape coca cultivation and learn more about the history of attempts to control it and what these imply about the current geopolitical engagements.