Bolivia links wave of murders to capture of Marset and 18 detained drug traffickers
Presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez attributes the violence to disorder caused by the capture of drug trafficking kingpins. The Government promises to turn to international security agencies.
Bolivian Government: detention of drug traffickers unleashed disorder and wave of violence
Presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez attributed this Tuesday the recent wave of murders in Bolivia to the consequences of the capture of organised crime leaders, including Sebastián Marset. According to El Deber, Gálvez stated that "Bolivians are paying the price for a security and anti-drug policy that has been misguided for over two decades".
The official maintained that that previous policy "harboured" organised crime, denying the existence of cartels in the country when, according to his account, in reality "drug trafficking was being protected" and the kingpins "lived very comfortably" in Bolivian territory.
The current Government, by contrast, has detained 18 "big fish", among them Marset, and a head of the PCC who had accumulated 126 years of sentencing in their country of origin, in addition to other individuals who "coordinated their activities" from Bolivia.
Gálvez acknowledged that the offensive against drug trafficking has generated an unintended effect: "Unfortunately, the measure of arresting them, apprehending them and expelling them has brought disorder to organised crime and today we are seeing these symptoms". He compared it to a healing process: "You have to clean the body that is contaminated", he said, and that is why violent manifestations have increased, which the Government repudiates.
On the international front, the spokesman highlighted collaboration with Brazil within the framework of a "safe border" programme, currently being implemented, whose results are not yet visible as it is in an initial phase.
Gálvez also announced that "other mechanisms" would be used, including international security bodies or agencies, within the country's constitutional and sovereign framework.
"Rest assured that this is underway, that it will be done and we will resort to all levels, because we cannot surrender to organised crime and drug trafficking, which are again threatening the country's security", the spokesman concluded.
Source: El Deber