Peru Expects 80 Countries To Participate In Drug Summit

Authorities from about 80 countries plan to participate in an anti-drugs summit that Peru is to host in June, a top Peruvian official said. Carmen Masias, the head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, said the summit will be held from June 25 to 26, state news agency Andina reported. “We hope that 70 or 80 countries will participate,” [...]

Peru Anti-Drug Chief Says Won’t Support Drug Legalization Proposals

Peru’s anti-drug chief ruled out that the Andean country will support a growing call in the region to legalize drugs, an initiative that she says would do little to combat criminal groups that control the multi-billion dollar illicit trade. Carmen Masias, the head of Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, said however that although Peru is against [...]

Peru Seeks To Decrease Coca Production By 30% In 2016

Peru’s government approved on Tuesday a five-year national plan that aims to decrease the production of illegal coca by 30% in 2016, and strengthen alternative and sustainable development in the coca-growing valleys. Premier Oscar Valdes’ office said in a statement that the strategy, which was created by Peru’s anti-drug agency Devida, involves eradicating 14,000 hectares of [...]

Peru Anti-Drug Chief Calls For Greater Women’s Empowerment

Peru’s anti-drug chief Carmen Masias said Thursday that the country’s counter-drug policy will promote the empowerment of women to boost alternative development over coca farming, state news agency Andina reported. Masias said that many rural women, especially those who live in the coca-growing regions, are often not only the heads of family but also play [...]

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 [...]

Next Page »