Security & Strategic Review February 2009 (ISSN 1741-4202)

Bolivia's interior minister Alfredo Rada admitted on 9 February that coca eradication efforts had been suspended since the beginning of the year, but blamed this on the lack of cooperation from the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) of the US embassy, which hitherto had been providing assistance specifically for eradication. The US denies any suspension of assistance and says that eradication will continue with the funding unchanged.