A blocked road cuts Colombia in two
Mudslides isolate the productive plains from the rest of the country
VILLAVICENCIO, A SHABBY city of half a million people, considers itself the gateway to los llanos, Colombia’s eastern plains. Now and for the next few months few people will be passing through it. Mudslides since May have blocked the main highway, the Vía al Llano, which connects the city to Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, 86km (53 miles) away (see map). More rocks and mud threaten workers trying to unblock the road, along which two-thirds of domestically produced goods are transported. Colombia’s government says this could take up to three months.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Lost llanos”
From the June 29th 2019 edition
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