Chavez underwrites coca production in Bolivia

LA Times/Houston Chronicle:

President Hugo Chavez has found a novel way to dispense foreign aid: promising to underwrite coca production in Bolivia.

Officials here confirmed Wednesday that Venezuela will buy whatever legal products Bolivia can make from coca leaf, as part of that southern Andean nation's attempt to wean farmers from the cocaine industry.

Chavez's promise could finance the production of some 4,000 tons of coca leaf in Bolivia, Venezuelan officials say.

Possible coca-based products include soap, bread, toothpaste, medicines and cooking oils. No dollar amount for Venezuela's support has been announced. Three factories are under construction in Bolivia with Venezuelan financial and Cuban technical support.

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Chavez's promise is a big step in Bolivian President Evo Morales' efforts to legitimize the production of coca leaves, a crop Morales once grew.

The announcement came as the U.S. government is scaling back its anti-drug enforcement funding to Andean nations, including Bolivia and Ecuador.

Chavez has long supported Morales' efforts to find commercial markets for coca-based products. Indigenous communities in Colombia and Peru, who claim the leaf is sacred, have attempted to promote commercial, noncocaine uses of coca in soft drinks, cookies and anti-arthritic ointments. Botanists have extolled the nutrients that the leaf contains.

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Caracas is a transshipment point for large quantities of cocaine. It would not surprise me if the intention of both is to produce and sell cocaine. Like The Grateful Dead they are ready to be ridin' that train high on cocaine.