Owner Of Drug Rehab Center Faces 8 Years In Prison

The owner of an unlicensed drug rehab center that was engulfed by a deadly fire over the weekend could receive eight years in prison, according to newspaper El Comercio, citing lawyer Mario Amoretti. Raul Garcia Albornoz, owner of the Christ is Love center in Lima’s lower-class San Juan de Lurigancho district, turned himself into police [...]

Peru’s New Drug Chief: Country “Let Down Its Guard” in Eradication

Peru’s new anti-drug chief, Carmen Masias, said that the country “let down its guard” last year in the eradication of illegal coca crops, the raw material used to make cocaine. In an interview published by daily El Comercio, Masias said that Peru’s five-year anti-drug strategy will be reviewed and approved by President Ollanta Humala’s cabinet [...]

Peru Aims to Eradicate 14,000 Hectares Of Coca in 2012

Peru’s government plans to eradicate 14,000 hectares of illicit coca crops this year, Interior Minister Daniel Lozada has announced, according to state news agency Andina. The figure would represent a 40 percent increase from 2011, Lozada said during a presentation to the Congressional defense committee. “We ended last year with 10,269 hectares eradicated, which was above [...]

Soberon Resigns as Peru’s Anti-Drug Chief, is replaced by Masias

Psychologist Carmen Masías has been appointed head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, the government announced Tuesday, immediately following the resignation of Ricardo Soberon  just five months after he took office. The change takes place at a time when many analysts say Peru is at a critical point in tackling its growing drug trade, and in need of new strategies. Soberon, a [...]

Int’l Drug Conference to Focus on Alternative Development, Intelligence

An international conference on the drug trade, to be held in Peru in mid-2012, is to focus on rural alternative development and exchanging information, according to Ricardo Soberon, the head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida. The conference is planned for June 26 – 27, state news agency Andina reported. Soberon said the conference is to [...]

Peru Eyes Brazil for Anti-Drug Support

Peru is looking to its neighbor and Latin America’s biggest economy, Brazil, to support it in its efforts to combat drug trafficking, a high-level government official said. Jorge Bayona, the Peruvian ambassador in Brasilia, told state news agency Andina that Peru and Brazil are “strengthening” their ties to combat the illicit trade. Peru is the [...]

EU to Support Anti Money Laundering Efforts in Peru

The European Union is to provide support to Peru to combat money laundering from the illicit drug trade, the head of the EU’s delegation in Peru, Hans Allden, said. “It is a clear priority of the European Union to reinforce the ambitions of Peru and other countries (in Latin America) regarding money laundering, in a wider [...]

Cabinet Chief Valdes Says Development Needed for VRAE

Following an attack Monday by traffickers that claimed the life of one military officer and wounded four soldiers, Peru’s new cabinet chief, Oscar Valdes, said the government will tackle drug trafficking in the Apurimac and Ene river valley, or VRAE, by increasing development and state-presence in the isolated coca-growing region.   Valdes, the former Interior Minister, said [...]

U.S. Seeks Partners to Support Peru’s Anti-Drug Program

Budgetary constraints are leading the U.S. government to seek other nations with which to share the cost of supporting Peru’s counter-narcotics program, according to U.S. Ambassador Rose Likins during the CADE 2011 business conference in Cusco on Thursday. Likins’ announcement follows statements made earlier this week in Lima by William Brownfield, U.S. assistant secretary of state for [...]

Peru Looks to Decrease Coca Cultivations by 20 Percent

Peru’s new anti-drug plan will involve reducing the number of hectares used to grow coca leaves by 20 percent to 48,000 hectares, a government official said Monday. The five-year plan was created by Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida and submitted to President Ollanta Humala’s cabinet for approval. Ricardo Soberon, the head of Devida, announced the plan [...]

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