According to research by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, in Bajo Cauca, the demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC’s) 34th Front, extracts an estimated US$1.2 million monthly by taxing gold miners and equipment owners through a “vacuna” extortion system – charging up to 10% of miners' production or fixed monthly fees per backhoe. In regions like Caquetá, they operate their own dredging equipment while simultaneously extorting other miners. These funds have been used to purchase arms and finance rebel activity, and the group’s reach extends across departments including Antioquia, Tolima, and Nariño, with some units collaborating with rival National Liberation Army (ELN) or criminal drug factions to control gold flows.