U.S. Says Coca Crops Up in Bolivia, Peru
Coca cultivation was up in Bolivia and Peru last year and Venezuela is doing little to halt the smuggling of Colombian cocaine across its borders, the U.S. government said in its annual narcotics report Wednesday. Growth of coca leaf, the raw ingredient of cocaine, was up 38 percent in Peru and 8 percent in Bolivia last year compared with 2004, despite coca eradication and programs that encourage farmers to grow alternative crops, the U.S. government said. Full Story