HomeNewsBriefEU Announces Extra Anti-Drug Funds for Bolivia
BRIEF

EU Announces Extra Anti-Drug Funds for Bolivia

BOLIVIA / 9 SEP 2011 BY RONAN GRAHAM EN

The European Union (EU) has announced it will provide an additional 40 million euros in funding to Bolivia in 2012 to help the Andean country combat the drug trade.

Bolivian foreign minister, David Choquehuanca, and Christian Leffler, EU Managing Director for the Americas, met Thursday in Bolivian capital La Paz to discuss bilateral cooperation, and Leffer confirmed the EU’s offer.

Following the discussion, the Bolivian government and the EU issued a joint statement, with both parties reaffirming their commitment to work together, based on the principle of shared responsibility in the battle against drugs.

The details of the agreement were announced by Bolivia’s top drug official, Felipe Caceres, who highlighted Bolivia’s efforts to eradicate the production of excess coca, the plant used to produce cocaine.

Caceres said that, of the 40 million euros, 10 million will be used to improve social welfare in the coca-producing areas of Yungas and Cochabamba. The remainder will be used to strengthen Bolivia’s national anti-drug body, CONALTID, and to equip the Special Force against Drug Trafficking, FELCN, which is responsible for the eradication of illegal coca.

Bolivia expelled the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from the country in 2008, and the two countries now have only limited cooperation on anti-drug efforts. A cable recently released by WikiLeaks revealed that Caceres told U.S. officials part of the reason for President Evo Morales' irritation with the DEA is that he thought it was spying on him, including his private life.

Bolivia has also turned to the UK as an alternative partner in drug policy.

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

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 9 SEP 2022

Brazil's border town of Corumbá is a well-known smuggling route from Bolivia. This is unlikely to change soon.

BOLIVIA / 26 JAN 2022

Authorities in Bolivia have arrested the Andean nation’s former anti-drug chief as he tried to flee the country, but how…

BOLIVIA / 8 MAR 2023

InSight Crime reviews Latin America and the Caribbean's cocaine seizure date from 2022 to find out what it reveals about…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.