Bolivia seized a record amount of cocaine in 2023, suggesting that its role as both a cocaine producer and exporter is growing.
Data published by Bolivia’s anti-drug trafficking force shows nearly 32.9 tons of cocaine were seized in the country last year, of which 11.6 tons were cocaine base paste and 21.3 tons cocaine hydrochloride, or cocaine powder. This represents a 62% increase in cocaine seizures compared to 2022, when authorities captured 20.3 tons of the drug.
Recent police operations also point towards Bolivia’s growing cocaine trade. On December 31, Bolivian police made a record one-off seizure, finding 8.7 tons of cocaine hydrochloride impregnated in wooden boards in the department of Oruro. The shipment had come from the Santa Cruz department and was en route to the Netherlands, according to local media.
“The impact on [sic] this illicit activity in the destination country exceeds $526 million, making it the largest seizure of cocaine in the history of Bolivia” President Luis Arce wrote on X.
Last year’s record haul follows the recent trend of year-on-year increases in cocaine seizures in Bolivia. In 2020, authorities seized 15.6 tons of cocaine. This grew to 19.7 tons in 2021 and 20.3 tons in 2022, according to the Anti-Drug Trafficking Force (Fuerza de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico – FELCN).
InSight Crime Analysis
Bolivia has for years been a crucial cocaine trafficking hub. However, a progressive strengthening of its production capacity, combined with a lack of state capacity and corruption, has turned the country into a producer and exporter of cocaine.
The country has the largest legal coca leaf industry in the world. Its traditional role was as a transit point for Peruvian cocaine and for the export of cocaine base.
However, authorities have recently seized increasing amounts of cocaine hydrochloride, despite not having made any significant improvements to their capacity to confront drug trafficking.
FELCN data shows that cocaine hydrochloride seizures grew from 5.8 tons in 2020 to 21.3 tons in 2023. In 2022, seizures of hydrochloride exceeded those of coca paste for the first time. The modest 1% increase in hydrochloride over coca paste in 2022 grew to 59% in 2023, suggesting a rapid increase in the volume of the paste in the country.
Similarly, authorities have discovered and destroyed numerous crystallization laboratories and have seized precursor chemicals for the production of cocaine hydrochloride. In early 2023, Chilean authorities seized a record 690 tons of precursor chemicals destined for Bolivia.
These findings, which could indicate an increase in domestic cocaine hydrochloride production, come against a backdrop of heightened coca leaf cultivation in Bolivia and in neighboring Peru. In 2022, coca cultivation in Bolivia exceeded the 22,000 hectares permitted since 2017 by 47%, increasing its estimated coca leaf cultivation capacity by up to 58.7% compared to 2015. This excess cultivation could be being processed in- country.
“We have seen an increase in coca plantations in national parks and protected areas. We have also seen that cocaine production has not only strengthened in the east [of the country], but has also taken root in national parks to establish itself because cocaine laboratories need to be hidden, be among lots of trees, and have access to water,” criminologist Gabriela Reyes told InSight Crime.
The Bolivian government estimates that 90% of the country’s drug laboratories are located in the Chapare province, in the Cochabamba department, where the FELCN carries out most of its operations. However, the biggest cocaine hydrochloride seizures have occurred in Santa Cruz, which borders Brazil and Paraguay. There, the Brazilian criminal group First Capital Command (Primer Comando da Capital, PCC) is fighting with the Red Command (Comando Vermelho, CV) for control of drug trafficking routes.
“Criminal organizations around the region tend to move their production to the borders, like the Amazonian borders, to reduce risks and costs,” said Reyes.
Parallel to this is Bolivia’s weak state capacity and the corruption among authorities, which have helped drug trafficking grow unchallenged. Notorious cases of corruption include the narcovuelo (narco-flight) case, in which a commercial plane transported half a ton of cocaine to Madrid, Spain, and the possible protection of Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset by Bolivian officials.
In 2016, Bolivia acquired a radar system to detect drug planes, the most common means of transport for drug shipments. But problems with getting the system up to speed mean these flights have increased, becoming fundamental to the new drug trafficking route through the Paraguay-Paraná waterway.
“There haven’t been any successful cases — that is, cases where a plane has been seized or intercepted thanks to the radar system,” said Reyes.
Featured image: Wooden planks impregnated with cocaine. Credit: @EDelCastilloDC