Colombia Drug Lords’ Cattle Theft Rob Rally Benefit: Commodities
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Latin America’s oldest guerrilla group’s penchant for cattle rustling is robbing Colombian ranchers of the benefits of the highest U.S.-traded futures prices since the 1960s.
The cash-strapped Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is selling livestock at below-market prices after a military crackdown on cocaine production made the fighters “desperate for financing,” Juan Manuel Santos, the nation’s president, said last month. The group, known as FARC, may be Colombia’s biggest cattle owner, according to a ranchers federation.