Coca is not cocaine
Coca is the sacred leaf of the Andean people, commonly used for chewing, making coca tea and relieving the effects of altitude sickness, hunger and common ailments. Cocaine, a European invention, made through the processing of the coca leaf with other chemicals is a harmful drug that causes serious problems throughout the world. For more detailed information
Economic Dependency and the War on Drugs
The weak Bolivian economy is extremely dependent on international aid, particularly from the United States and international lending institutions that the U.S. influences. Such aid is conditioned by the U.S., and tied to the War on Drugs. Bolivia is under extreme pressure from the United States to meet antidrug objectives, in order to continue receiving much-needed funding. As a result, the social and economic impacts of the War on Drugs are largely overlooked, as counternarcotics goals repeatedly take precedence over respect for human rights. For more detailed information
The Leahy Amendment
The Leahy amendment is a law that prohibits the United States government from funding foreign security forces that commit human rights violations without prosecution. Bolivian security forces have been implicated in numerous violations of human rights, but systematic impunity has resulted in no prosecution. Nevertheless, the U.S. has yet to implement the Leahy amendment to pressure forces to respect human rights and properly bring violators to justice. For more detailed information
Bolivia's Prisons and the Impact of Law 1008
In Bolivia, the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, most citizens wage a daily struggle to survive. That struggle is even worse for Bolivia’s prison population. Often considered inferior citizens, prisoners are subject to substandard lives in the best economies; in Bolivia’s unforgiving financial crisis, their plight is bleak. Overcrowding caused by a U.S. sponsored and imposed anti-drug law, Law 1008, exacerbates already severe prison conditions, as the law failed to consider the lack of resources available to Bolivia’s prisons. Judicial delay, combined with the requirements of Law 1008, keeps many incarcerated for lengthy periods of time, particularly those from remote, impoverished areas. For more detailed information
Human Rights and the War on Drugs
Since 1986, when President Reagan declared war on drugs, millions of US dollars have flowed into Bolivia to eradicate coca fields and stop drug trafficking. Some of this money has been spent on alternative development projects, but the vast majority has gone into reinforcing the military and the anti-narcotics police force. Efforts to eradicate coca have lead to serious human rights violations, especially in the coca growing areas of the Chapare. Meanwhile, the drug problem in the US remains unaffected. For more detailed information