BOLIVIA · DRUG TRAFFICKING
Key Facts
- The country Bolivia is a landlocked South American nation and the world’s third-largest coca producer, led by President Rodrigo Paz.
- What happened On 20 October 2026 party leader Samuel Doria Medina said a network sells protection to cocaine flights, and the government answered on 21 October.
- The alleged fee He alleges a fee of US$50,000 for each plane under the previous government, raised to between US$70,000 and US$80,000 under Paz.
- The government’s answer A vice minister and the presidential spokesman asked Doria Medina to give prosecutors names and evidence, and promised to investigate any official involved.
- The US link Washington already holds Uruguayan trafficker Sebastián Marset, whom US agents flew from Santa Cruz to the United States on 13 March 2026.
- Power Index Bolivia ranks 12th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 28.4 points (October 2026 edition).
A Bolivian party leader says a network charges up to US$80,000 to let Bolivia cocaine planes leave the country, and he told President Rodrigo Paz. The government answered on Wednesday 21 October by demanding names and proof.
Bolivia has just asked US partners to help build two elite police units against organized crime. The claim comes from Samuel Doria Medina, a businessman who leads the Unidad party and was once an ally of the Paz government.
What Doria Medina Alleges
Doria Medina first made the claim in an interview with journalist Maggy Talavera. On Tuesday 20 October he repeated it on social media, saying protection for planes carrying drugs out of Bolivia continues and now costs more.
He says the price was US$50,000 per aircraft with 500 kilograms (half a metric ton) of cocaine under the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) government. He claims the Paz government negotiated a rise to between US$70,000 and US$80,000.
He also says staff at Naabol, the state air navigation and airports agency, were changed in Beni so the planes could leave. A senator from Beni first alerted his team, he says, and they later confirmed the information.
He refuses to name the source, calling it a private conversation. He says he told President Paz at once.
A Network, Not a Name
Doria Medina says he is not accusing anyone in particular because he describes an entire network that protects Bolivia cocaine planes. He told his followers he assumed the matter was already being investigated.
In a later message he noted that people are already talking about the Uruguayan trafficker Sebastián Marset penetrating the prosecutor’s office. He added that immigration, the police and Naabol should be assumed to be penetrated as well.
How the Government Answered
Dorian Badani, the vice minister for the fight against drug trafficking, called the claims very serious accusations of complicity by current officials. In a video released by the Ministry of Government, he said they must be backed with names and evidence before the courts.
Badani asked Doria Medina to take everything he knows to the public prosecutor’s office so it can act quickly. He warned that withholding the information would harm and obstruct the fight against drug trafficking.
Why Washington Watches Bolivia Cocaine Planes
Police arrested Marset in Santa Cruz on 13 March 2026, and US agents flew him out the same morning, according to Paraguay’s Última Hora. He appeared before a Virginia court on money-laundering charges on 16 March, Ecuador’s Expreso reported.
Expreso said the US Justice Department had accused him of moving at least 16 tons of cocaine. It also reported that Bolivia announced the seizure of 16 aircraft and other assets worth about US$15 million tied to his network.
The United Nations drug office representative in Bolivia said on 17 October that international cartels now use the country as a hub. Coca cultivation rose 7% to 36,400 hectares (about 90,000 acres) in 2025, according to the same UN office.
What It Means for US Readers
Bolivia has tied its security policy closely to Washington, and it stayed on a US trafficking watch list for a second year this month. The allegation lands on a partnership that includes US police support and the Marset case.
If officials were selling protection to Bolivia cocaine planes, it would test that partnership. For investors, the claim adds political risk because it targets the integrity of the officials who lead Bolivia’s anti-drug push.
For travelers, it comes amid a wave of violence in Santa Cruz, where the Frontera Segura 2.0 border plan began on 21 October. Brújula Digital counted at least 60 contract killings in Bolivia from January to the third week of September 2026, based on press reports.
What Is Not Known
No evidence has been made public by either side, and no official has been named. It is not stated when the alleged payments began or who received them.
The sources do not say where Bolivia cocaine planes fly or whether any of the cocaine reaches the United States. Prosecutors have not said whether they opened a formal investigation, and no reply from Doria Medina to the government’s invitation had been reported by Thursday.
More: Bolivia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Samuel Doria Medina claim?
He said a network of protection charges a fee to let Bolivia cocaine planes take off. He puts the fee at US$70,000 to US$80,000 under the Paz government, up from US$50,000 under the earlier government.
Who is Samuel Doria Medina?
He is a Bolivian businessman and the leader of the Unidad party. He was an ally of the Paz government before he broke with it over alleged deals with drug traffickers.
How did the Bolivian government respond?
On the Bolivia cocaine planes claim, Vice Minister Dorian Badani and presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez asked him to give prosecutors names and evidence. Gálvez said any official involved in drug trafficking must be investigated.
Is there proof of the Bolivia cocaine planes payments?
No evidence has been made public. Doria Medina says his information comes from a private conversation he will not name, and a senator from Beni first alerted his team.
What is the US connection?
US agents flew trafficker Sebastián Marset from Santa Cruz to the United States on 13 March 2026. Bolivia has also asked US partners to help build two elite police units.
What is Naabol?
Naabol is the Bolivian state air navigation and airports agency that Doria Medina names in his claim. He says its staff in Beni were changed to let the flights leave.
Sources: Opinion (Cochabamba), Doria Medina repeats the narco-money claim, 21 October 2026; Opinion (Cochabamba), anti-drug vice minister asks for names and proof, 21 October 2026; El Deber (Santa Cruz), government demands names and evidence, 21 October 2026; Los Tiempos (Cochabamba), presidential spokesman invites Doria Medina, 21 October 2026; Brújula Digital (La Paz), contract killings in Bolivia in 2026, 22 October 2026; Correo del Sur (Sucre), UN office says Bolivia is a cartel hub, 17 October 2026; Última Hora (Asunción), Marset expelled to the United States, 13 March 2026; Los Tiempos (Cochabamba), Frontera Segura 2.0 plan launched, 22 October 2026; Expreso (Guayaquil), Bolivia seizes 16 aircraft from Marset, 16 March 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief