The Drug Trail: Bolivia To The Us

Bolivia, a landlocked country in South America, has long been associated with the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, particularly cocaine. With its coca leaf crop, Bolivia has played a significant role in the global drug trade, especially in the 1980s when it was the second-largest grower of coca worldwide. While the country has implemented various counter-narcotics measures and experienced a recent drop in cocaine production, the question remains: do drugs from Bolivia still enter the United States?

The US government's anti-drug policies in Bolivia

The US government has a long history of involvement in Bolivia's anti-drug policies. In the 1980s, Bolivia was the second-largest grower of coca in the world, supplying approximately 15% of the US cocaine market.

In 1983, Bolivia committed to a five-year program to reduce coca production and created the Coca Eradication Directorate. In 1987, the US and Bolivia signed a joint agreement, creating the National Directorate for the Control of Dangerous Substances (DNCSP). The DNCSP was successful in eradicating several thousand hectares of coca.

In 1988, Bolivia passed the Law of Regulations for Coca and Controlled Substances, which aimed to eradicate illicit coca production and penalize drug trafficking. This law was supported and encouraged by the US.

In 1989, the US initiated the Andean Strategy, a five-year, $2.2 billion program to combat drug production and trafficking in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. The US provided financial assistance, equipment, and training to Bolivian anti-drug forces.

In 1995, the US pressured Bolivia to take stronger action against coca cultivation, threatening to cut off aid and oppose multilateral bank loans. This led to political tensions and human rights concerns in Bolivia.

US anti-drug policies in Bolivia have been criticized for their negative impact on human rights, particularly the rights of indigenous people and peasants. The US has been accused of supporting abusive conduct by Bolivian anti-drug forces and failing to address human rights violations.

In 2008, President Evo Morales expelled the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from Bolivia, accusing them of fomenting the drug trade. However, relations between the US and Bolivia on counter-narcotics issues have continued, and there have been some successes in reducing coca cultivation.

Bolivia's coca leaf production

Bolivia is the third-largest producer of coca leaves in the world, after Colombia and Peru. The coca leaf is a tea-like shrub that has been cultivated in the Bolivian Andes since the Inca era. The leaves are consumed in a variety of ways, including chewing, brewing into tea, and smoking. The leaves contain a psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine, which has a stimulating effect on cognition.

In the 1980s, Bolivia was the second-largest grower of coca in the world, supplying approximately 15% of the US cocaine market. The crop was incredibly lucrative, with exports of coca paste and cocaine generating between $600 million and $1 billion annually. The production of coca was attractive to farmers due to its quick economic return, light weight, and yield of four crops a year. Additionally, the abundance of US dollars available in the trade was a valuable resource in Bolivia's hyperinflated economy. The number of growers expanded from 7,600 in 1977 to at least 40,000 in 1987, and the area of cultivation increased from 4,100 hectares to at least 48,000 hectares during this period.

The Bolivian government has made efforts to eradicate coca cultivation, beginning in 1983 with a five-year program to reduce production. These efforts were met with resistance from the cocalero movement, a political force advocating for policies of "social control" over coca growing. In 2005, cocalero union leader Evo Morales was elected president of Bolivia, and he pursued a policy of legalizing coca production in certain regions while eradicating it elsewhere.

In recent years, Bolivia has continued to lobby for the decriminalization of the coca leaf, arguing for its traditional and medicinal uses. In 2024, the World Health Organization announced a landmark study of the coca leaf's non-narcotic benefits, the first step towards decriminalization. The Bolivian government aims to create a global market for coca-derived products such as liquor, soap, and toothpaste. However, the country continues to face criticism from the US and other Western countries, which view coca cultivation as a contributor to drug problems worldwide.

Bolivia's cocaine production

Bolivia is a significant producer of coca, the raw ingredient used to make cocaine. In the 1980s, coca was Bolivia's most lucrative crop and economic activity. The country was the world's second-largest grower of coca, supplying approximately 15% of the US cocaine market in the late 1980s.

Coca has been grown in Bolivia for centuries, particularly in the Chapare and Yungas regions. In the 1980s, farmers rushed to grow coca as its price climbed and the economy collapsed. The Bolivian government estimated that coca production expanded from 1.63 million kilograms of leaves covering 4,100 hectares in 1977 to a minimum of 45 million kilograms over an area of at least 48,000 hectares in 1987. The number of growers increased from 7,600 to at least 40,000 during this period.

In 1983, Bolivia committed to a five-year program to reduce coca production and created the Coca Eradication Directorate (Dirección de la Reconversión de la Coca—Direco) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Campesino Affairs, and Livestock Affairs. However, these efforts had limited success and were highly controversial among peasants.

In the late 1980s, Bolivia took further steps to combat coca cultivation and drug trafficking. In 1987, Bolivia and the United States signed an agreement on a three-year, $300 million joint plan to eradicate 70% of Bolivia's known coca fields. This included a voluntary eradication phase and a program to compensate coca growers for each hectare of coca destroyed.

Despite these efforts, coca production in Bolivia remains significant. Bolivia produces approximately 40-45% of the world's supply of coca leaf and coca paste. The Chapare region alone supplies 70% of the nation's coca leaf crop.

In recent years, there has been an increase in coca cultivation in Bolivia. According to the 2019 UNODC monitoring report, coca cultivation in Bolivia increased by 10% between 2018 and 2019, with the area under cultivation rising by 2,400 hectares to a total of 25,500 hectares.

The growing international demand for cocaine, particularly in the United States, has stimulated increased coca leaf production in Bolivia. Small farmers in the country have been attracted to coca production due to the high profits and wages associated with the crop. However, the coca/cocaine boom has led to negative social and economic consequences for Bolivia, including labor shortages in traditional industries, environmental damage, and increased violence and corruption.

The US's role in Bolivia's anti-drug efforts

Bolivia has been a significant producer of coca leaf and cocaine for decades, and the US has been involved in the country's anti-drug efforts since at least the 1980s. In 1987, the US and Bolivia signed an agreement to reduce coca fields by 70%, and the US has provided substantial funding and training to Bolivian anti-drug police and other agencies.

However, the US's role in Bolivia's anti-drug efforts has been controversial. In 1995, a Human Rights Watch report detailed human rights abuses committed by Bolivian anti-drug police and US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) personnel, including arbitrary arrests, theft, extortion, and torture. The report also criticised the US for failing to adequately address these abuses.

In 2008, President Evo Morales expelled the DEA from Bolivia, accusing the agency of spying and conspiring against his government. Since then, Bolivia has relied on funding from the European Union for its anti-drug efforts.

The impact of Bolivia's drug trade on its indigenous population

Bolivia is a major producer of coca leaves, which are used to make cocaine. In the 1980s, coca was Bolivia's most lucrative crop, supplying approximately 15% of the US cocaine market. The country has also been a significant transit point for drugs, with its landlocked Andean location making it a hub for transnational organised crime.

The indigenous people of Bolivia have been growing and consuming coca leaves for thousands of years, but the rising demand for cocaine in the US has rapidly restructured their economic and social relations. The growing international demand for cocaine has stimulated increased coca leaf production by small farmers in Bolivia. This has led to the clearing of tens of thousands of hectares of forested lands in the Chapare tropical rainforest area, which supplies 70% of the nation's coca leaf crop.

The coca/cocaine trade has induced peasants to shift land from food production to coca leaf production, leading to greater dependency on purchased foodstuffs, higher food prices, and shortages of crops such as rice, bananas, and maize. This has also led to labour shortages in highland areas, as peasants migrate to the coca-growing regions to work in coca leaf production and paste-making.

The drug trade has also pulled the indigenous population into illegal activities such as owning makeshift cocaine factories and smuggling coca leaves and processing chemicals. Peasant women have entered en masse into prostitution in the drug-making zones, and the drug trade has brought criminal traffickers from Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela into rural areas.

The repression against the drug trade in Bolivia falls disproportionately on the indigenous population due to their lack of political and economic power. Drug-related arrests and detentions have led to overcrowding in detention centres, while larger trafficking interest groups are seldom arrested or prosecuted because of their ability to bribe or influence Bolivian officials.

The coca/cocaine boom in Bolivia has also stepped up violence in rural areas due to efforts to repress the illegal trade and widespread arms trafficking. Arms have become necessary to protect coca-paste factories and during transport by traffickers.

However, compared to other Latin American countries, Bolivia has avoided much of the violence associated with drug production. This is due to how the drug trade is embedded in local cultural norms and values, with age-old customs that infuse coca growers' involvement in illicit activities while successfully coexisting with market-oriented strategies.

In conclusion, the impact of Bolivia's drug trade on its indigenous population has been mixed. While it has provided economic opportunities and social mobility for some, it has also led to negative consequences such as labour shortages, environmental damage, increased violence, and repression by the state.

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