Presidential Condemnation of Venezuela and Bolivia elicits strong response
This post was written by CIP Intern Benjamin Fagan
On Friday, in its statement on Major Drug Transit and Drug Producing Countries for FY 2014, the White House declared Venezuela and Bolivia had "failed demonstrably" over the past year to adhere to international counternarcotics agreements.
The determination called for increased “support for programs to aid” anti-drug policies in Venezuela, but did not mention Bolivia as a candidate for such assistance. While Venezuela has a strained relationship with the United States regarding anti-drug efforts – former President Chávez kicked the DEA out in 2005, -- with Bolivia that relationship has been particularly tenuous under President Evo Morales, who promotes legalized coca cultivation.
Although Morales rejects the legalization of drugs, he has expanded an "alternative model," first implemented in the country in 2004, intended to combat drug trafficking while allowing for the domestic cultivation of 20,000 hectares of coca. Although this measure appears to have caused potential cocaine production numbers to have dropped, even according to White House numbers, this stance runs counter to official U.S. policy and has created a rift.
The United States has been scaling back on aid to Bolivia, cutting counternarcotics funding from $15 million in 2011 to $10 million in 2012. In 2008, Bolivian President accused the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of spying on him. In April of this year, Morales ejected USAID from the country, ending U.S.-sponsored alternative development programs, and in May, the U.S. announced it would close its counternarcotics office in Bolivia.
Other countries described as "major drug transit and/or major illicit drug producing countries" in the region were: The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Additionally, the statement notes the government’s “deep concern” over the 5% increase in cocaine trafficking from the Caribbean to the U.S. It also highlights the necessity for strengthened cooperation in Central America under programs such as the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI).
Both Venezuela and Bolivia were outraged over the “failed demonstrably” designation. The head of Venezuela’s anti-drug office, Alejandro Keleris, responded, “We strongly reject the accusation ... The United States is trying to ignore our government's sovereign policies.” In an official statement from the Venezuela National Anti-Drug Office, Keleris states, “Venezuela sticks to a balanced drug policy, utilizing strong efforts in both prevention and interdiction.” He noted the following indicators of commitment to anti-drug efforts: 6,400 arrests related to drug crimes in the last year, 80,000 pounds of drugs seized in the last year, the capture of 100 drug gang bosses since 2006, 75 of whom have been deported.
Bolivian Vice-Minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances, Felipe Caceres, stated, “The Bolivian government does not recognize under any circumstances the US as an authority to certify or decertify the fight against drugs, the only internationally accredited body is the UN whose report was recently met.”
The U.N. report to which Caceres was referring, released in August by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, found that from 2011 to 2012 Bolivia decreased the total area of coca cultivation by 7% and had eradicated upwards of 11,000 of coca. Both countries’ anti-drug measures were given the same classification last year by the United States.