Andean Group - January 2026

Bolivia’s new centre-right government took office on 8 November with a promise of sweeping change after nearly two decades of rule by the left-wing Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS). This extends to the country’s coca sector, in which harvests swelled under the MAS beyond the legal limit that is permitted for traditional use. A report published on 15 December by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted a further rise in coca production in 2024, prompting President Rodrigo Paz’s government to step up eradication efforts.

The UNODC’s ‘Bolivia Coca Cultivation Monitoring Report’ states that 34,000 hectares (ha) of land was dedicated to coca production in 2024, up 10% from 31,000 in 2023. This is 12,000 ha greater than the 22,000 ha harvest that is legally permitted for medicinal and traditional usage. The annual increase was most pronounced in Cochabamba department, where the authorities have long been accused of turning a blind eye to excess coca cultivation due to the strong local influence of former president Evo Morales (2006-2019), the leader of the Seis Federaciones del Trópico de Cochabamba coca union. Coca production in this area totalled 14,275 ha in 2024, up 18% on 2023.

Bolivia’s other main centre of coca production, the Yungas region north of the capital La Paz, saw a 4% annual rise to reach 19,230 ha in 2024. Coca cultivation in northern La Paz department, the other area highlighted by the UNODC, fell by 2% to 478 ha.

President Paz made little mention of coca on the campaign trail, probably to avoid antagonising the MAS voters whose support he needed in the election’s second-round against right-wing former president Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) [SSR-25-09]. Now, however, it is beginning to outline a harder stance against excess coca cultivation. Speaking on 16 December, the day after the UNODC report was published, the deputy minister for social protection and controlled substances, Ernesto Justiniano, said that “eradication will once again play a crucial role in the fight against drug trafficking, regaining the same strategic priority as interdiction, because it focuses on the root cause [of drug-related crime] – the overproduction of coca”.

The UNODC report highlights a 3% reduction in coca eradication in 2024, the final full year of MAS rule under former president Luis Arce (2020-2025). The report states that 10,001 ha of coca was eradicated in 2024, down 3% from 2023. On the other hand, there was a notable 115% increase in cocaine seizures in 2024 (45.9 tonnes), as well as in seizures of cocaine base (20 tonnes, +73%).

Announcement expected on return of DEA

Presidential spokesperson Carla Faval said on 24 November that President Paz is planning an announcement on the return of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which was expelled from Bolivia in 2008 by former president Morales. Faval said that Paz “is going to release a statement to the country, to provide details on each of the things that we need to work out regarding the return of the DEA, including dates, and work regarding the international agenda”.

On 12 November, days after Paz took office, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said that “there’s no need to isolate ourselves or stigmatise cooperation… We’re going to count on collaboration from various agencies and countries that help us in the fight against serious transnational crime, including of course the DEA.” 

Cocaine production potential

The latest UNODC report includes a new addition, estimating Bolivia’s total potential cocaine production, based on coca harvests, to be 394 tonnes.