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Transnational crime and record coca cultivation in Bolivia

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2026-09-09 18:26 UTC → 2026-09-26 15:09 UTC · added removed

Transnational crime and record coca cultivation in Bolivia

Bolivia is experiencing an escalation in transnational organized crime and illegal coca cultivation. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned that criminal mafias are utilizing the country as a transit corridor for cocaine while engaging in human trafficking, money laundering, and illegal gold mining. These organizations are reportedly attempting to penetrate state institutions through corruption. Data from the UNODC indicates that coca cultivation increased by Following a 7% increase in 2025, totaling 364,000 hectares. coca cultivation has reached record levels for the third consecutive year. Production significantly exceeds the legal limits established by the 2017 General Coca Law; approximately 36,400 hectares have been planted, which is 65.5% more than the 22,000 hectares permitted. The most significant growth occurred expansion is heavily concentrated in the Cochabamba department, Chapare region of Cochabamba, where cultivation grew by 22% and now accounts for nearly half 17,470 hectares have been planted despite a legal limit of the nation’s total crops. Efforts 7,700. This surplus is being diverted from traditional markets to curb this trend through plantation destruction illegal cocaine production to meet global demand. Authorities have seen a sharp decline; identified over 3,000 sites for coca paste production and hundreds of laboratories, with potential cocaine production reaching 275 metric tons. The surge in 2025, only 27,000 hectares were destroyed, compared production is linked to previous annual figures of increased violence, including at least 100,000 hectares. This expansion occurred during the political transition from 16 drug-related murders recorded between August and mid-September 2026 in Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, and Beni. Furthermore, the administration of Luis Arce United States has designated Bolivia as a country that failed to meet its commitments in the presidency of Rodrigo Paz. fight against drug trafficking. Challenges to state authority are compounded by limited access to certain regions. In areas persist in regions serving as strongholds for former President Evo Morales, where indigenous farmers have organized militias that prevent continue to restrict police intervention. Morales, who faces arrest warrants for charges he denies, remains in these areas, which are protected by local groups that restrict state presence. This lack of authority coincides with a more decentralized and complex criminal landscape that integrates various illicit economic activities.

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  1. 2026-09-26 15:09 UTC Transnational crime and record coca cultivation in Bolivia
  2. 2026-09-09 18:26 UTC Transnational crime and coca cultivation in Bolivia
  3. 2026-09-09 04:05 UTC Transnational crime and coca cultivation in Bolivia

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