Overview
- Vice Minister Ernesto Justiniano confirmed DEA personnel are in Bolivia alongside teams from about nine U.S. agencies, including INL, to collect data for future assistance.
- DEA officials joined an observation flight over the Chapare coca region to identify clandestine airstrips and drug laboratories, which authorities stressed was not a policing operation.
- The assessments are being coordinated with the Bolivian Police and the anti-narcotics force FELCN to map capability gaps and plan support.
- The government says these initial engagements could lead to a formal cooperation agreement with the United States, though no date has been set.
- Bolivia cites severe resource shortfalls in its anti-drug units, including only two operational aircraft out of 31, as campesino unions in the Chapare publicly reject the U.S. presence.