Devida and foreign relations commission begin anti-drug conference in Iquitos

Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida and Congress’ Foreign Relations Commission began a conference on Monday in the northern jungle city of Iquitos to discuss the increasing presence of drug traffickers in the border region, state news agency Andina reported.

The conference includes regional president of the Loreto Department, Yván Vásquez, the head of Devida, Rómulo Pizarro, and the president of the Foreign Relations Commission, Luisa Maria Cuculiza.

Representatives at the event are expected to discuss solutions to social problems, as well as legislative proposals and initiatives to curb drug trafficking in the region.

The production of coca leaf – the raw material used to make cocaine – has reportedly increased in Loreto following a collapse in the regions lumber industry, a lack of state presence and social assistance. There are also reports of an  increase of Colombian drug traffickers in the zone during the last two years.

In January, the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute, or IIAP, announced they were planning to open an office in Loreto’s Ramón Castilla province where local authorities had said indigenous communities were harvesting coca for drug traffickers, who move easily into Peru through the sparsely populated and porous border area.

Authorities said the communities had little employment options and were suffering from general state abandonment.

Peru is the world’s second largest manufacturer of cocaine, after Colombia. A report by the International Narcotics Control Board, however, said the country’s growing illicit cultivation of coca leaf  and consequent drug supply could surpass Colombia in five to 10 years.