Vanessa BuschschlüterOnline editor for Latin America
Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Bolivia says it has signed a new cooperation agreement with the United States to fight drug trafficking.
The Foreign Office said that under the deal the US would provide up to $20m (£15m) to train and equip Bolivian forces in a joint fight against drug trafficking.
The deal is the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the nations – 18 years after then-President Evo Morales expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration from the South American country, which is the world’s third-largest producer of coca, the raw material used to make cocaine.
Under the leadership of a new centrist president, Rodrigo Paz, Bolivia joined the “Shield of the Americas,” the U.S.-led security initiative in the Western Hemisphere.
In a statement, the US Embassy confirmed that “the United States will work closely with the Bolivian government to provide training, equipment and other support.”
Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry said the aim of the agreement was to strengthen Bolivia’s institutions responsible for public security, criminal investigations and the fight against organized crime.
Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The deal was signed in La Paz less than two weeks after Bolivia’s president named the country’s “drug czar,” Ernesto Justiniano, as defense minister.
In March, Paz joined 12 other regional leaders at the inaugural “Shield of the Americas” summit in Florida, hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Alliance member countries have provided significant support to Paz in recent weeks as he faces a wave of anti-government protests.
On May 21, they issued a joint statement affirming that they “support the Bolivian government” and expressed their “deep concern over the protests and roadblocks aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order and destabilizing the democratically elected government.”
However, the main objective of the coalition is to combat “narcoterrorism”.
As part of his stated goal of stopping drugs from reaching the United States, Trump also ordered U.S. forces to target ships suspected of trafficking illicit substances.
More than 200 people have been killed in U.S. strikes on ships in the Caribbean and Pacific since early September, with some legal experts saying the strikes could violate international law.
In the most recent strike, which U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) said occurred Tuesday, one man on board was killed, while two survived.
Southcom said “intelligence confirmed that the vessel was engaged in narcotics trafficking operations” but has not publicly shared any evidence to that effect.
REUTERS/Claudia Morales
