By The Opinion
The DEA will once again have a presence in Bolivia with an office in La Paz dedicated to the exchange of criminal intelligence, almost 18 years after its expulsion, although Its agents will not participate in anti-drug operations nor will they be deployed in sensitive areas such as Chapare, the Government reported.
The official, who is the Bolivian anti-drug czar, gave the information from Washington, where he met with representatives of the DEA, along with the total director of the Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking (Felcn) of Bolivia, Colonel Frans Cabrera, according to a statement from the aforementioned vice ministry.
“There are no joint operations with other police attachés or with other entities. And with the DEA it will not be the exception,” said Justiniano.
According to the vice minister, cooperation with the United States will focus “above all on intelligence, information exchange and institutional strengthening“.
Likewise, he rejected versions that indicate that DEA agents are “physically in the red zones of Chapare”, or Tropic of Cochabamba, an area in central Bolivia where the bastion of the country’s coca leaf producers is located, but it is also an area of drug trafficking operations.
In the same region, the former president and coca leader lives Evo Morales (2006-2019) protected by his followers to prevent his capture to respond in a trial for alleged aggravated trafficking of minors.
“Two people from the DEA will come, more than anything to have a presence, probably in La Paz, working in an office style, where we can collaborate or work on intelligence issues mainly,” said Justiniano.
He also noted that Bolivia currently works with police attachés and security agencies from different countries, such as Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Spain, among others.
In addition, he highlighted that one of the main benefits of rapprochement with the US anti-drug agency is access to regional mechanisms for the agile exchange of criminal information.
Since the President’s Government took office Rodrigo PazSix months ago, the return of the DEA to Bolivia was announced, whose agents and the then US ambassador Philip Goldberg were expelled by former President Morales in 2008, accusing them of alleged conspiracy.
During the visit to Washington by Bolivian officials, one of the topics analyzed with their American counterparts was the case of the Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastian Marsetwho was arrested on March 13 in the eastern city of Santa Cruz and handed over to the United States the same day.
Marset faces charges in the United States related to drug money laundering that can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia reported in March.
With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
– How Santa Cruz became a logistics center for Sebastián Marset and other drug traffickers.
– Sebastián Marset, one of the most wanted drug traffickers by the DEA, is captured in Bolivia.
