Bolivia’s former counternarcotics chief was extradited to the United States on Thursday to face federal drug trafficking charges in a New York court.
Authorities said Maximiliano Dávila, who served as counternarcotics chief during the final months of Evo Morales’ administration from 2006 to 2019, helped facilitate plane shipments of cocaine to the United States. United. According to the US Department of JusticeDávila exploited his position “to guarantee access to Bolivian airfields for the transportation of cocaine and to ensure that members of the Bolivian law enforcement agencies under his command – including individuals armed with machine guns – ensured the protection of these drug shipments.
Davila – who authorities say is also known as “Macho” – boarded a private jet sent from the United States specifically for his extradition.
On February 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to $5 millionn to obtain information leading to Dávila’s conviction. He is charged with conspiracy to provide high-level protection for cocaine shipments to the United States, as well as weapons-related charges involving possession of machine guns. According to the State Department, Dávila “allegedly used his position to protect planes used to transport cocaine to third countries, for further distribution in the United States.”
Juan Karita / AP
In late November, Bolivia’s Supreme Court approved Dávila’s immediate extradition to the United States. He denied any wrongdoing.
Morales expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration from Bolivia in 2008, accusing it of plotting to overthrow his government at a time of rising commodity prices and a wave of left-wing politics across South America. South were challenging the United States’ long-standing influence in the region. Meanwhile, the two countries have not exchanged ambassadors for more than 15 years.
The drug investigation that led to the charges against Dávila was initiated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division in 2017, according to court records.
As part of the investigation, criminal informants working under the direction of the DEA recorded conversations in which a co-defendant of Dávila bragged about having access to an MD-11 military cargo plane to transport 60 tons of cocaine to the UNITED STATES.
Co-defendant Percy Vasquez-Drew said that “he and other traffickers were able to operate with impunity in Bolivia because the DEA and CIA were kicked out” and that the country’s remaining anti-drug officials were easily bribed. prosecutors said in court filings.
Vasquez-Drew was later arrested in Panama on a US arrest warrant. He pleaded guilty in 2020 to a single count of conspiracy to smuggle more than 450 kilograms of narcotics into the United States. Earlier this year, his sentence was reduced to 100 months in federal prison.
Bolivia is the world’s third largest producer of cocaine.
It is unclear how close Dávila is to Morales, a former coca producer. But the two appeared together in an October 2019 photograph celebrating Morales’ birthday, standing next to several cakes decorated with coca leaves. Also in the photo was the former head of the Bolivian National Police.
Although the DEA has arrested numerous Bolivian drug traffickers over the years, including one of Dávila’s predecessors, Morales himself was never charged with drug trafficking. He vehemently denounced the US-led war on drugs in Latin America and defended the traditional uses of coca – the raw material for cocaine.