Koani

Background

Koani is one of the less populated provinces in Bolivia. A vast salt desert, one of the biggest on earth, covers most of its surface and makes it very inhospitable. The resources of Salar are mainly salt and also recently a deposit of Lithium. Some tracks that are not well marked out allow crossing the Salar. The eastern part of Koani is an arid mountain with zinc deposits exploited by the company OMZnA and numerous herds of sheep.

The small town of Huertas is the capital of this province. It’s a mining town controlled by the powerful syndicate of miners. Sacani is a village occupied by a few families living from salt exploitation. Each of these families has a truck and they dig pits in the salt desert.

The Lithium deposit is a big hope for the Bolivian government. A factory was built by the company ENLK on the edge of the Salar, prospecting has started and production should start soon. The Bolivian government succeeded in preserving this gem from the cartel.

Koani is the main smuggling cocaine platform. The Santa Blanca have used this flat desert for all its flights that carry cocaine. There are multiple destinations. The pilots come from everywhere. The pilots of tourist planes are mostly South Americans. The pilots of airliners are mostly Russians or Ukrainians and often previous army pilots. For these flights, their loyalty is insured by armed sicarios in the plane. Boston Reed, an American pilot, is a legend among those pilots. Nobody has a similar prize list.

Nidia Flores had logistic infrastructures built on the island of Salar that allow supporting all these flights. The airliners land near it, whereas the tourist planes land at several places in the Salar where cartel convoys are waiting for them. The cartel also privatized the bus station of Huertas. Under the surveillance of the Santa Blanca, trucks and cars are charged with cocaine dissimulated in special compartments.

To insure the existence of a railway branch, Nidia Flores made a deal with the OMZnA. The cartel has provided capital, which allows it to launder its money but also to use a railway terminal of one of the mines. Since then, men of Santa Blanca hide bags of cocaine in mineral wagons that travel to Brazil.

Miners tried to resist the Santa Blanca when they arrived at Koani. The battle was fierce and there were many losses on both sides. Finally, the miners gave up but they are waiting for the Rebellion to help them get their revenge. In order to avoid strikes, the cartel has built a new district at Huertas, where many men of the cartel live.