HomeNewsBriefBolivia's 2012 Cocaine Seizures Up
BRIEF

Bolivia's 2012 Cocaine Seizures Up

BOLIVIA / 20 NOV 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

Bolivia has seized 34 tons of cocaine so far this year, an increase on 2011, and indicative of Bolivia's increasing importance as a supplier of cocaine for regional and international organized crime.

President Evo Morales’ government announced on November 19 that during 2012 authorities have seized some 34 tons of cocaine, surpassing the 2011 total of 33 tons, according to EFE.

On the same day the figures were released, Bolivia’s anti-narcotics unit, the FELCN (Special Force for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking - Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotrafico), dismantled a laboratory used to process coca base into cocaine hydrochloride (HCl) in the eastern department of Santa Cruz, reported Prensa Latina.

The government added that so far in 2012, 10,000 hectares of coca – the raw material for cocaine – have been destroyed and that anti-narcotics police have detained 3,794 people. Of these, 308 were foreigners from Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Argentina, among other countries.

InSight Crime Analysis

According to the latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report on Bolivia’s coca production, coca cultivation and cocaine seizures are on divergent paths - cultivation dropped 13 percent between 2010 and 2011 to 27,200 hectares while seizures rose 16 percent in the same period. The seizures comprised both coca base and HCl, with the latter making up over 16 percent of the total. The Bolivian government did not give details on how much HCl was in the 34 tons seized this year.

The discovery of the HCl lab in Santa Cruz represents one factor which may explain the contrasting trends. Employment of the so-called “Colombian method" of processing cocaine, which involves a more sophisticated extraction technique of the cocaine alkaloid, ensuring greater yields, is often cited as the reason for Bolivia’s apparently increasing capacity to produce cocaine.

In addition, Santa Cruz is becoming an a favored drug trafficking and production hub for criminals in the region. Though the government has frequently denied that foreign cartels have a permanent presence in the department, there is evidence of Brazilian and Colombian gangs running networks here. Compounding this problem are the levels of corruption, something which prompted the government to open investigations into corrupt officials in August.

According to an El Universal report from earlier this year, the rise in cocaine production in Bolivia means that the country could now be the second largest supplier of cocaine to Mexican cartels, after Colombia, based on information obtained from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Tags

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARGENTINA / 8 FEB 2023

InSight Crime's 2022 Homicide Round-Up covers more countries than ever before, with a major expansion into nations of the Caribbean.

BOLIVIA / 25 JUL 2022

Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, has gradually become one of South America's main criminal threats, with Chile its latest target.

BOLIVIA / 22 JUL 2021

A recent clash between soldiers and smugglers has pointed to how Bolivia’s trade in contraband has reached a flashpoint.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…