Arica Prosecutor Authorises New Bolivian Timber Shipments Despite Active Investigation
The regional prosecutor in Arica will permit future Bolivian timber exports to continue under free transit. More than 60 containers remain detained on suspicion of drug trafficking.
Bolivian timber exports resume passage through Arica whilst criminal investigation continues
Bolivian timber exports through the port of Arica will be able to continue to their destination markets, although the investigation into more than 60 containers detained since 2025 remains open. This was reported to El Deber by Daniel Guevara, CEO of Guevara & Cía. and legal representative of several of the affected companies.
According to Guevara, the regional prosecutor for Arica and Parinacota, Mario Carrera, sent that signal during a formal meeting held on 16 September. The defence received confirmation that future shipments will be able to operate under free transit rules, with the aim of preventing the ongoing investigation from halting new commercial operations in the Bolivian timber sector.
"Future cargo from Bolivia is seen as being able to continue exporting timber without difficulty," the lawyer stated, adding that there is coordination with destination countries. If specialised bodies from the United States, Spain or the United Kingdom determine that the cargo does not contain drugs, that evidence will be incorporated by the Chilean prosecution into the investigation.
More than 60 containers detained from 20 Bolivian companies
The detention affects more than 20 Bolivian timber-trading companies exporting wood to China, the European Union, the United States and Central America. The weeks of paralysis had generated uncertainty about the continuity of operations through Arica, one of the main exit points for Bolivian cargo abroad.
The resumption of new shipments does not imply closure of the criminal case. The Chilean Public Ministry maintains an open investigation, and the defence presented 12 investigative steps to determine whether traces of cocaine detected in some samples correspond to contamination of the cargo and what their actual scope would be.
Guevara questioned the initial interpretation of the analyses that linked the shipments with more than 120 tonnes of cocaine. Reports from Chile's Public Health Institute detected traces of the substance in less than 5 per cent of the cargo examined, although the lawyer maintained that that result does not amount to establishing that the containers transported that quantity of drugs.
International experts question drug impregnation in the timber
To support the companies' position, the defence hired two international specialists, Jim Quickendal and Scott Oulton, both with experience in United States drug enforcement agencies. Their reports question whether drug impregnation exists in the timber and raise the need to verify the results through new analyses.
During that review process, the Arica prosecution apparently also suspended the eventual destruction of the retained timber. Guevara noted that the Public Health Institute received instruction not to proceed with an incineration whilst the investigation advances and the available evidence is determined with greater accuracy.
Exporters reject protocol that would extend review to 60 days
One of the proposals initially analysed envisaged establishing a special control protocol that could extend the cargo review process from an average of six days to around 60 days. Guevara maintained that such a measure would affect the competitiveness of Bolivian exports.
The lawyer also raised the need to improve the logistical infrastructure available to Bolivian exporters. There are extra-port facilities for certain Bolivian mining cargo in Chile, but the agro-industrial, livestock and timber sectors do not have equivalent facilities that would allow for streamlined operations with adequate control and security standards.
The port of Arica holds strategic importance for Bolivia by virtue of the transit regime established in bilateral agreements. For Guevara, maintaining fluid operations is relevant not only for the timber sector but also for other export activities that use Chilean port infrastructure.
Source: El Deber