The dense humid Darien jungle region of Panama - just five miles from the Colombian border.<br/> <br />On Friday, Panamanian border police uncover an unwelcome present from their neighbor - two hidden Colombian Farc bases.<br/> <br />With similar camps serving in the past as a base for smuggling cocaine, police are quick to seize and destroy the camps.<br/> <br />No drugs or people are found but Panama's border service director, Frank Abrego, wants to send a strong message.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF PANAMA'S BORDER SERVICE COMMISSION FRANK ABREGO SAYING:<br/> <br />"As we have seen on previous occasions, these so-called "guerrillas", or drug traffickers don't control this area, in the High Tuira or in the Republic of Panama."<br/> <br />Just a few thousand police patrol this tough border region which has tolerated frequent incursions by the radical Colombian guerilla group in the past.<br/> <br />But backed by the US amid increasing fears about drug trafficking, police are now more willing to take on FARC.<br/> <br />Abrego says patrolling the jungle is physically and mentally exhausting but needs to be done.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF PANAMA'S BORDER SERVICE COMMISSION FRANK ABREGO SAYING:<br/> <br />"You have to act like a good border policeman and protect the scene of the crime, collect the evidence because you have to hand it over to the judicial police later."<br/> <br />Drug trafficking in the Darien has profoundly altered the indigenous way of life here with many new initiatives faltering under security threats.<br/> <br />Sunita Rappai, Reuters
