Santiago Mesa has won the first prize in the Documentary Project section at the Sony World Photography Awards with his work on coca cultivation in Colombia’s Putumayo department.

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Katherine, a member of the Comandos de la Frontera, part of a mobile unit moving through the Putumayo rainforest that consists of about 50 to 60 people. Colombia. © Santiago Mesa/Panos Pictures

Darwin, a young coca leaf picker (raspachín), rests on a mound of freshly harvested coca leaves gathered by the other workers before the leaves are chopped and processed in the rural community of Jordán Guisia, in Putumayo, Colombia. © Santiago Mesa/Panos Pictures

Gerardo Pinchao’s rural community ID card, a form of control imposed by the Comandos de Frontera to distinguish local residents from outsiders. During their inspections, anyone unable to present the card may be fined if they can later prove they belong to the community. Colombia. © Santiago Mesa/Panos Pictures

Daniel, a young coca leaf picker (raspachín), carries one of the sacks of coca leaves he gathered earlier in the day in the rural community of Jordán Guisia, in Putumayo, Colombia. © Santiago Mesa/Panos Pictures

Cachama and tilapia fish raised by local farmers participating in fish-farming initiatives developed as an alternative to coca cultivation in La Hormiga, Putumayo. Colombia. © Santiago Mesa/Panos Pictures