Brazil, Bolivia ink pact to fight drug trafficking

Bolivia and Brazil signed bilateral agreements to fight drug trafficking and strengthen their border as Brazilian justice minister Jose Eduardo Cardoso met with Bolivian presidential spokesperson, Felipe Caceres at the Foreign Ministry in La Paz.The two nations have been in negotiations since last Friday to strengthen bilateral ties in trade as well as cooperation in fighting drug trafficking and immigration on their 3,100 kilometres shared border.Cardoso traveled to a central Bolivian coca growing region where authorities destroyed an illegal coca plantation on Tuesday as part of the visit focused on cracking down on production and trafficking of cocaine which is made from coca leaves.Bolivia says it is making good on eradication goals though the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) reported that the coca plant coverage and potential harvest the past few years has been at some of the highest points seen since 1998.Bolivian President Evo Morales expelled the United States Drug Enforcement Agency in 2008 over accusations of conspiracy and Caceres said the best way to fight drugs is with agreements like the one signed with Brazil.The fight against drugs and drug trafficking warrants the strengthening of our capabilities and were only going to do that with these types of alliances, Caceres said.Brazil, worried about drugs and weapons entering the country from Bolivia, has become the Andean nations most important partner in combating drugs since the DEAs expulsion.In the agreement, Brazil has promised to aid in permanent monitoring of the border using unmanned aircraft to track movements in a joint effort with Bolivian authorities.