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Andean Drug War

Town plaza with statues honoring the coca leaf in the VRAE (photo by the author)
Town plaza with statues honoring the coca leaf in the VRAE (photo by the author)

Peru Halts Coca Eradication -- For Now

The new nationalist government of Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has announced the temporary suspension of coca eradication as it evaluates its options.
Cultivating coca in the Chapare. (photo by the author)
Cultivating coca in the Chapare. (photo by the author)

Bolivia to Buy Up Excess Coca Production

The Bolivian government is laying plans to buy some legally produced coca -- up to a certain point -- if there is not sufficient licit use for it.
lime powder container (used traditionally in coca chewing), 1st-7th-century, Colombia (Quimbaya), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
lime powder container (used traditionally in coca chewing), 1st-7th-century, Colombia (Quimbaya), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Going Through the Motions

[image:1 align:left caption:true]Bolivia's government has announced it plans to allow "excess

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at-the-devils-table-200px.jpg

Chronicle Book Review: At The Devil's Table

With "At the Devil's Table," investigative journalist William Rempel takes the reader on a ride to the dark heart of the Cali cartel. And what a ride it is!
lime powder container (used traditionally in coca chewing), 1st-7th-century, Colombia (Quimbaya), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
lime powder container (used traditionally in coca chewing), 1st-7th-century, Colombia (Quimbaya), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Bolivia to Quit United Nations Drug Convention Over Coca

We may be about to see the first defection from the legal backbone of global drug prohibition, the 1961 UN Convention on Single Drugs. Bolivia is ready to dump it, at least temporarily, over its classification of coca as an illicit drug.

Drug Submarines and the Futile Fight Against Colombian Smuggling

Yet another lessen in the futility of drug prohibition: Drug smugglers in Colombia have a low-cost way to transport cocaine -- narco-submarines. Authorities are struggling to keep up, and the technology keeps improving. Jay Bergman, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's Andean division, said it's a whole new challenge. "Without question, it has us all going back to the textbooks and the drawing boards and figuring out what are we going to do about this." Bergman pointed out that so far, no drug submarines have been detected under the sea. But seizures of semi-submersibles have dropped dramatically in the past two years. That could mean that traffickers have already made the switch to submarines – and that they're eluding detection.
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hostagenation.jpg

Chronicle Book Review: Hostage Nation

We review a book on Colombia and US drug policy seen through a lens focused on American contractors and Colombian politicians kidnapped by the FARC.

Bolivia President Evo Morales Attacks Drug Reports

Bolivian president Evo Morales has accused the United States and the United Nations of conspiring to defame his government in two drug reports. He said criticism over Bolivia's handling of the war on drugs were part of a strategy to falsely link his government to drug trafficking. Morales said the US was trying to force him to invite American anti-narcotics agents back into Bolivia.