Bolivia and Brazil develop plan to combat drug trafficking and organized crime on shared border

Bolivian and Brazilian authorities met yesterday in La Paz to develop a joint action plan to combat drug trafficking and transnational crime along their extensive shared border.

During the meeting, the Vice Minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances of the Bolivian Ministry of the Interior, Jaime Mamani, stressed the willingness of both governments to carry out joint projects to fight organized crime with strategies to deepen the exchange of information.

“This space between fraternal countries is to share experiences and design a joint action plan that will allow us to fight against the actions of transnational criminal organizations in border regions,” he said.

He recalled that both countries have several agreements on technical, scientific, and technological cooperation that need to be updated and strengthened to curb transnational organized crime.

According to the deputy minister, this meeting contributes to better binational cooperation and strengthens the coordination of security institutions between the two countries, which have a 3,423-kilometer border, considered the longest in the South American region.

The main axes of economic integration between Bolivia and Brazil are productive exchanges in the energy sector and regional infrastructure projects.

During the meeting, the vice minister recalled that the fight against drug trafficking must be comprehensive and involve the countries of production, transit, and consumption within a framework of shared responsibility.

According to Mamani, the goal is to elaborate new measures to combat drug trafficking and develop coordinated operations to dismantle criminal gangs with international links.

For his part, the Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Cabinet for Institutional Security, Carlos José Russo, referred to his government’s willingness to take up the fight against drug trafficking jointly.

He concurred with Vice Minister Mamani, who pointed out that the comprehensive strategy should strengthen intelligence sharing to facilitate the fight against drug trafficking.

Russo acknowledged that Brazil had become the second largest drug user in the world after the United States, which is why he believes coordination with neighboring countries is extremely important to curb this illegal activity.