LatinNews Daily Report - 11 April 2013

Bolivia: On 4 April the US formally donated twelve aircraft to the Bolivian Air Force for counter-narcotics operations. The aircraft, including eight helicopters, one light aircraft and three transport planes, are already in use by the Bolivian air force in anti-drugs operations, but the transfer formally cedes the fleet to Bolivia. This donation represents the end of US logistical and financial support to Bolivia for anti-drug operations.  Larry Memmott, the US embassy’s charge d’affaires in Bolivia referred to the event as “the end of an era.”  US embassy officials in La Paz stated that the decision to transfer the fleet was made in line with US support for Bolivia’s anti-drug trafficking efforts. Bolivia ejected the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in late 2008 but there have been efforts to cooperate via a trilateral US Bolivia and Brazil anti-drugs accord. President Evo Morales was critical of the transfer, stating that the ‘old’ helicopters were useless to the Bolivians, and that Bolivia had nationalised its fight against drug trafficking.

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