Bolivia has inked a $20 million anti-narcotics deal with the United States, bringing British intelligence into the fold to combat cocaine trafficking routes. Sources confirm the pact, signed in La Paz last week, funnels cash to Bolivia’s Special Force for Fighting Drug Trafficking while MI6 shares satellite surveillance and informant data. Uncovered documents show the agreement targets the Chapare region, a coca-growing stronghold long resistant to eradication.
Critics call it a Band-Aid on a bullet wound: Bolivia’s cocaine production hit a record 300 tonnes in 2023, according to UN figures. The deal follows a steep rise in seizures at the Peruvian border, where British-trained officers have intercepted over 12 tonnes this year. But questions linger.
Who monitors the monitors? The $20 million US contribution comes with strings attached including mandatory coca eradication targets that previous Bolivian administrations resisted. A former Bolivian anti-drug chief, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: 'This is about political control not just drug control.
They want to dictate our domestic policies.' The British role remains opaque: a Foreign Office spokesperson said they provide 'technical assistance only' but refused to detail operations. Meanwhile, coca growers in the Yungas valley warn of social unrest if forced eradication resumes.
The pact also commits Bolivia to extradite drug lords to the US, a move that historically triggers backlash in a country wary of American intervention. For now, the money flows. But in the war on cocaine, $20 million is a drop of water in the Pacific.
The bodies keep piling up on the jungle floors.
