Peru seeks help from US to stop cocaine trafficking

The head of Peru’s anti-drug agency said on Wednesday that his country wants to reach an agreement with the United States as soon as possible to assist it combat the use of planes to smuggle cocaine at a time when coca planting has been expanding.

One of the leading manufacturers of cocaine in the world, Peru, has been negotiating a deal with the US for “non-lethal” assistance in intercepting planes carrying illicit drugs since March.

When the Peruvian Air Force mistakenly shot down a jet after mistaking it for one belonging to drug traffickers, killing two American citizens, the U.S. discontinued its program, which had previously been in existence.

Ricardo Soberon, head of the national anti-drug organization DEVIDA, stated at a conference that efforts to destroy coca farms, the plant used to create cocaine, had been hampered by rising global demand for the substance. He continued by saying that the “concept of shared responsibility” needed to be reviewed.

“Right now, the procedure consists solely of bilateral negotiations. We aim to do it as quickly as possible, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry has it in its possession “Soberon stated.

According to Soberon, production in Peru has primarily increased in the Ucayali area, which shares a border with Brazil. There, coca leaf plantations have nearly quadrupled in size in just two years, adding 10,229 hectares (25,276 acres) in 2021.

Although official numbers have not yet been released, he continued by saying that the national growth of coca leaf crops is anticipated to have increased in 2021. Peru anticipated that coca leaf crops would cover 61,700 hectares in 2020.

Soberon plans to visit Washington in late August or the first part of September to meet with the American State Department and talk about the situation.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the American Embassy in Lima.