Bolivia Strikes $225.6M Blow to Drug Trade in 2023

In 2023, Bolivia’s government hit drug traffickers hard, disrupting their operations by a staggering $225.6 million.

Eduardo del Castillo, the Minister of Government, announced this achievement. He detailed the successful operations carried out by the armed forces.

Del Castillo highlighted the year’s significant gains in the fight against drug trafficking. Notably, there was a marked increase in seized drugs and dismantled drug labs.

“This year, we captured over 32.93 tons of cocaine, an all-time high. This amount surpasses previous years by a significant margin, averaging an 86.2% increase,” he said.

He further noted that 372 tons of marijuana were also seized in 2023. This number exceeded past records in Bolivia.

These achievements resulted from 10,470 nationwide interdiction operations.

The minister explained that the operations led to the dismantling of 766 base-paste cocaine factories.

Additionally, 54 recycling labs and 43 cocaine hydrochloride crystallization labs were destroyed.

Law enforcement also confiscated 51 aircraft used in drug trafficking and destroyed 122 clandestine airstrips. These efforts resulted in 3,453 arrests linked to the drug trade.

Del Castillo stated that these operations significantly weakened the drug traffickers financially.

“We’ve cut off over $225.6 million from these criminal organizations,” he emphasized during his report.

Jaime Mamani, Deputy Minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances, praised the government’s approach.

He credited the success to transparency and international cooperation.

“We conduct destruction of cocaine labs openly, with oversight from legal authorities and media presence, supported by the UNODC,” he said.

Mamani attributed this achievement to the effective training of forces and new strategies that allowed operations across the nation, moving beyond past limitations.