HomeNewsBriefBolivia Denies Officials Helped 'El Chapo'
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Bolivia Denies Officials Helped 'El Chapo'

BOLIVIA / 5 SEP 2011 BY JEANNA CULLINAN EN

Bolivia government denounced an investigation linking Joaquin Guzman, alias 'El Chapo,' to high ranking Bolivian officials as a smear campaign.

TV network Univision reported on Thursday that it had seen government documents which suggested that Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel and one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, had been running his operations from Bolivia. The report claimed that he operated there with protection from corrupt officials, including the former commander of the Bolivian Police, General Oscar Nina (above).

Bolivian officials, including General Nina and Interior Minister Sacha Llorenti, denied any knowledge of the intelligence report, which allegedly links 40 high-ranking Bolivian officials to Guzman’s drug trafficking network, and disputed Univision’s allegations.

Llorenti insisted that Bolivia has been successful in its fight against drug cartels and announced that a series of severe anti-trafficking laws would be unveiled by the end of the year.

The minister stated on Monday that the source for the allegations in Univision's report was Senator Roger Pinto, an opposition politician who has been an open critic of President Evo Morales.

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