Bolivia: Drug czar confirms presence of international cartels, announces return to cooperation with DEA

There are international cartels in Bolivia. This was assured by new Bolivian Social Defense and Controlled Substances Vice Minister Ernesto Justiniano.

"There are international cartels that we know are operating in Bolivia and we cannot confront drug trafficking with local force alone; we must integrate and we need cooperation," Justiniano said during an interview with Unitel.

Justiniano also confirmed that the new Bolivian government will resume cooperation with international organizations in the fight against drug trafficking and stressed that the country hopes to work hand in hand with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) once again.

"For us it is fundamental to re-integrate ourselves into a global fight against drug trafficking, and not only Bolivia's fight," added the vice minister.

In this sense, he specified that there will "cooperation yes, but not dependence, with sovereignty in the country's affairs."

The new czar also stressed that the coca crop eradication policy must be rethought. "First, we have to identify the coca needed for the legal part, the legal producer has to be our ally. The enemy is drug trafficking," Justiniano added.