They see us like the enemy: soldiers’ narratives of forced eradication of illegal crops in Colombia

ABSTRACT Despite the promises made in the peace agreement with the FARC-EP in 2016, bureaucratic obstacles, underfunding, and an apparent lack of political will has eroded the voluntary illegal crop substitution programme in Colombia. Armed forces are sent to the territories to forcibly eradicate the coca plants, causing violent confrontations and deepening the distrust between the state and peasant coca-leaf growers. Using qualitative data from 28 semi-structured interviews, this article analyses Colombian Army soldiers’ opinions on manual eradication operations. Their voices suggest that not all the soldiers support coercive measures to fight the rising growth of coca crops, but these measures can encourage institutional corruption and incentivise a logic of an internal enemy that justifies violence against civilians. This article offers insights into obstacles to building legitimacy and trust in the state and its institutions after peace agreements.