Coordination meeting between institutions fighting drug trafficking in Bolivia

In La Paz, Bolivia, the first inter-agency coordination meeting in the framework of the project for adapting Bolivian legislation on drugs was held. The project is funded by the European Commission, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the consulting and service company of the French Ministry of the Interior (CIVIPOL), and is managed by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP).

The meeting was organised by the National Council for Fighting Illicit Drug Trafficking (CONALTID) and included the participation of European experts sent by FIIAPP and officials from several Bolivian security and anti-drug trafficking institutions.

The meeting served to define the time line for action in the implementation phase of the project, which will be developed over the next two and a half years. To do so, it was necessary to identify the priority themes for the various training activities. The themes proposed during the meeting were: operational criminal investigation, intelligence, control of borders and goods, money laundering, and human smuggling and trafficking.

This series of training sessions aims to strengthen the technical and operational capacity of the Special Anti-Drug Trafficking Force (FELCN) for addressing drug trafficking and related crime, and supporting coordinated efforts between the different public, national and international institutions for fighting drug trafficking and human trafficking, and reducing the supply of drugs.

This project is part of the European Union Strategy to Combat Drug Trafficking and Surplus Coca Crops (2011-2015), and is being undertaken in a manner consistent with the policies of the Bolivian State in the fight against drug trafficking and related crime in a framework of shared responsibility, respect for human rights, gender sensitivity, cultural diversity and the environment.