“There is a small group that benefits from the illnesses and problems of others and takes advantage of a demand, a market that encourages the shipment of controlled substances outside the countries of origin,” he said in statements to Prensa Latina, adding that the fight against this scourge is extremely necessary and urgent.

When we talk about regionalization, we consider that it is not only important but necessary to break down borders, at least in terms of information,” he stressed.

Aguilera noted that there are tasks that are carried out from the point of view of regionalized teams, specifically those that he described as joint research and multidisciplinary ones that include delegations from several countries in the testing of these activities.

“Bolivia has human talent transferred to other neighboring countries with the intention of generating links to, undoubtedly, transmit information,” the deputy minister said.

Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru agreed at a meeting of the Andean Community (CAN) in Lima last Sunday on an action plan to fight organized crime in the region with joint operations and the creation of a database.

The wave of violence in Ecuador following the January prison brake of drug trafficker Jose Adolfo Macias, aka “Fito,” was seen as a threat to democratic institutions in the Andean subregion.

In this context, Bolivia convened an extraordinary meeting of the Andean Council of foreign ministers and heads of internal affairs of the CAN countries to adopt a coordinated response to the subregional security challenges.

At the forum, a 13-item plan was agreed upon with areas of collaboration, ranging from border actions with migration, customs, penitentiary and intelligence cooperation to the control of arms trafficking, drugs and illegal mining.

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