The dope from Bolivia

Washington Times:

Narco-trafficking cartels are migrating to the Andes region in Bolivia, where a diminished U.S. presence has allowed a boom in cocaine production and the opening of new drug routes, regional anti-drug officials say.

Recent studies by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime show a steep rise in cocaine production in Bolivia and a smaller increase in Peru. They also show a drop in Colombian cocaine output, which is subject to increased anti-drug efforts by the U.S. and Colombian governments.

Potentially more significant is Bolivia's emergence as a major hub for jungle laboratories that turn coca paste, which can be imported from anywhere in the Andean region, into refined cocaine.

"Like never before we have discovered these types of factories around the country," said Col. Oscar Nina, chief of Bolivia's police anti-drug unit. He added that his unit has destroyed more than 20 cocaine laboratories so far this year.

In addition, he recently warned of the increasing presence of powerful Mexican crime organizations that control drug movements.

Other law enforcement officials say Colombians connected with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a leftist guerrilla group known by its Spanish acronym as FARC, are also shifting some operations to Bolivia because of recent military pressures on rebel-held areas.

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Colombia is likely to remain the world's top cocaine producer for years to come. Despite a 33 percent drop in Colombian cocaine production since 2005, it still produces four times the 113,000 kilograms of Bolivia for 2008, according to the latest U.N. report.

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According to Brazilian intelligence reports quoted in the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, drug trafficking has increased sharply since the Drug Enforcement Administration left the country last year.

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The newspaper La Nacion reported that Mexican drug bosses, operating with Russian crime organizations, have established major new routes from Argentina to Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

A British warship recently intercepted a drug cargo off Argentine waters with an estimated street value of $500 million - one of the largest seizures on record.

Chile's security services have reported a 183 percent rise in cocaine smuggling from Bolivia, usually through human carriers known as "mules."

Bolivian opposition congressman Carlos Klinsky said most of the cocaine goes to Venezuela, which has been singled out by the United States as a "major drug-transit country." According to Mr. Klinsky, bails of drugs are loaded onto hundreds of Venezuelan military flights as they land at various points in Bolivia.

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Chavez buddy Evo Morales appears to be as corrupt as he is. Trafficking drugs for the FARC commies is an indirect way of supporting the evils of communism and the terrorism they espouse. Morales is a socialist who is bent on destroying his own country.

Corruption has found several homes in South America. It will make the people poorer as the dopers get rich and more abusive and spread their poison to other continents.