The Associated Press: Bolivian president says he won’t let DEA come back
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales expressed hope Monday for improved relations with the United States under Barack Obama’s presidency, but said he will never allow the U.S. anti-drug agency to resume operating in his country.The socialist leader, a close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, accused the Drug Enforcement Administration of “political aggression” in Bolivia, which is a major source of coca plants, the raw ingredient for cocaine.
Morales said his government would set up a new intelligence operation involving the military and police to fight drug trafficking in place of the DEA, whose Bolivian operations he suspended Nov. 1.
“The DEA will not return while I am still president,” Morales said. “The DEA … had an intelligence structure, but it wasn’t so much to fight drugs, it had more to do with the political aggression against my government. … In recent times, we’ve seen some officials of the DEA involved in political conspiracy.”
The War on (Certain American Citizens Using Non-Pharmaceutical, Non-Alcoholic, Tobacco-Free) Drugs has long been a convenient cover for American involvement in Latin American affairs. Drug trafficking provides a quick and hard-to-trace source for off-the-books intelligence operations and an excuse for having your “advisers” and “security forces” in place should you need to support or engineer a coup.
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