The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, started yesterday, Thursday, the work of “eradication and rationalization of surplus coca leaf crops for the 2023 administration” and reaffirmed the fight against drug trafficking.
In a public act in the municipality of Chimoré, in the department of Cochabamba (center), the president set the goal of surpassing the annual destruction of 10,000 hectares of illegal coca crops.
Arce took the opportunity to call on the international community to join the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
He stressed that in 2021 and 2022, very positive eradication figures were achieved, unlike in the era of neoliberal governments, when he said a failed model was applied that resulted in the deaths of dozens of Bolivians.
“The 2021 and 2022 goals of 9,000 to 10,000 hectares have been surpassed, and today we are setting goals again for 2023: to surpass 10,000 hectares,” he said.
Arce said that the National Police and the Armed Forces would be tasked with eradicating surplus coca in coordination with social organizations in Cochabamba and Los Yungas, in the department of La Paz (west).
For his part, the Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, compared the scope of the eradication of surplus coca crops with that of other countries in the region, emphasizing that Bolivia is leading the way with actual results in these tasks.