Bolivia takes its war on drugs to national parks
- 12 years ago
The war on drugs in Bolivia.
Five months into a one year pilot program against illegal coca crops in Bolivia the fight goes on. It's a project backed by neighbor Brazil and the United States.
Government forces fan thorough Bolivia's Carrasco National Park. They are literally ripping the illegal plants from the ground.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FELIPE CACERES, VICE-MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEFENSE, SAYING:
"Here, in a month or more, these plant seedbeds would have been enough to create at least 5 hectares of coca plants in this place, and what we are doing is preventing the spread of these coca seeds, and in this way putting a stop to all the illegal coca inside Carrasco National Park, it is one of our objectives as the Joint Task Force and National Government."
Bolivia is the third largest producer of coca, the raw material of cocaine.
Time may be running out for the project, however. The US Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) is due to withdraw its support from the program in September 2012 taking an $11 million financial contribution with them.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
Five months into a one year pilot program against illegal coca crops in Bolivia the fight goes on. It's a project backed by neighbor Brazil and the United States.
Government forces fan thorough Bolivia's Carrasco National Park. They are literally ripping the illegal plants from the ground.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FELIPE CACERES, VICE-MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEFENSE, SAYING:
"Here, in a month or more, these plant seedbeds would have been enough to create at least 5 hectares of coca plants in this place, and what we are doing is preventing the spread of these coca seeds, and in this way putting a stop to all the illegal coca inside Carrasco National Park, it is one of our objectives as the Joint Task Force and National Government."
Bolivia is the third largest producer of coca, the raw material of cocaine.
Time may be running out for the project, however. The US Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) is due to withdraw its support from the program in September 2012 taking an $11 million financial contribution with them.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters