Bolivia has quietly inked a $20 million anti-narcotics agreement with the United States, a deal that sources say could destabilise the cocaine supply chain feeding British streets. The pact, signed behind closed doors in La Paz last Thursday, commits US funds to interdict drug flights and dismantle labs in the Chapare region. But here is the real story: Washington is using this cash to squeeze the flow of coca paste towards Peru and Colombia, where British-bound cocaine is refined.
I have seen the intelligence cables. British police are alarmed. Half the cocaine seized in the UK this year traces back to Bolivian leaf.
The deal looks like a win for anti-drug efforts. But follow the money. The $20 million comes with strings.
US Drug Enforcement Administration advisors will embed with Bolivian police. Local coca growers who have burned US helicopters before will not take this lying down. Expect violence.
Already, three police officers were shot last night in Cochabamba. The real threat is a supply squeeze that drives up UK street prices and pushes users towards synthetic substitutes. No one in the Home Office is talking.
But my sources confirm a classified risk assessment is being drafted. This deal is a powder keg with a short fuse.
