Bolivia's top court says its former anti-drug chief can be extradited to the US on drug charges

By ISABEL DEBRE and PAOLA FLORES
Updated 8:18 PM CST, November 27, 2024

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia’s highest court on Wednesday approved the extradition to the United States of a former anti-narcotics chief on charges of conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the U.S., a rare ruling against a top security official in the Andean nation whose relations with Washington have been strained for decades.

The decision, which cannot be appealed, caps the rapid downfall of Maximiliano Dávila, 59, Bolivia’s top drug cop in 2019 under former leftist President Evo Morales, the first Indigenous president of Bolivia who became a global anti-imperialist icon for kicking out the U.S. ambassador and Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008.

A former police colonel, Dávila was indicted in 2022 in New York on federal charges of conspiring to import cocaine to the U.S. and possessing machine guns. The indictment accused Dávila of leveraging his position to provide top-level protection to cargo planes transporting cocaine through third countries for distribution in the U.S.

The Justice and State Departments also offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his conviction. Dávila official has denied the charges.

Bolivia’s Supreme Court of Justice announced it was granting a formal U.S. request for Dávila to be extradited on drug conspiracy charges. The U.S. State Department and Department of Justice did not publicly comment on the announcement.

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https://apnews.com/article/bolivia-us-extradition-cocaine-drugs-charges-smuggling-morales-arce-us-cb885ea010502695fc6b005f894275c9