Anti-drug police forced to abandon checkpoint in Villa Tunari after pressure from coca growers
Umopar officers who had resumed controls in the Cochabamba Tropics were forced to retreat to Chimoré when residents blocked their way.
Anti-drug police forced to abandon checkpoint in Villa Tunari after pressure from coca growers
Officers from the Mobile Rural Patrol Unit who had returned to inspect the Cochabamba Tropics were forced to withdraw on Thursday after residents compelled them to abandon the Castillo checkpoint in Villa Tunari.
The agents had returned to their posts after nearly two months of absence, as on 18 May they were evicted from the area during strike days that lasted 51 days across the entire national territory. The reopening of the checkpoint lasted only a few hours.
Testimonies from the officers themselves indicate that a regional leader addressed the residents to gather them near the inspection post. The crowd grew and began placing obstacles with stones and timber on the road, preventing traffic. Faced with the impossibility of continuing and to avoid an escalation of violence, the officers withdrew in the direction of Chimoré.
Among the alleged organisers of the protest were identified Víctor M., top representative of the Tropics Federation, and a woman identified as Wilma C. Both reportedly urged those present to thwart surveillance operations aimed at detecting drug smuggling.
Despite the setback, an official in charge of the operation assured that security and inspection tasks of vehicles and pedestrians would be resumed throughout the Tropics area, as part of the strategy against drug trafficking.
Information from El Deber
Source: El Deber