Bolivia extradites former anti-drug chief to the US on drug trafficking charges

Bolivia extradited its former anti-drug director to the United States, where he faces drug trafficking charges.

Maximiliano Dávila, also known as “Macho,” is accused of facilitating cocaine smuggling into the United States during his time as head of Bolivia’s anti-narcotics agency.

His extradition, which took place on Thursday, was approved by Bolivia’s Supreme Court at the end of November. He denies any wrongdoing.

Dávila had been imprisoned in Bolivia on corruption charges since February 2022.

That same month, U.S. officials unsealed an indictment charging the 60-year-old with cocaine trafficking and a weapons charge.

The US State Department alleges that Dávila was involved in narcotics trafficking before and during his tenure as director of the Bolivian Special Forces to Fight Drug Trafficking (FELCN).

It says that Dávila took advantage of his position to “safeguard the planes used to transport cocaine to third countries, for subsequent distribution in the United States.”

If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to US documents.

In 2022, the State Department offered a reward of up to $5 million (£4 million) for information that could lead to his conviction.

Dávila was director of the FELCN during the government of former President Evo Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019.

Shortly after Dávila’s extradition, Morales criticized the measure and said that “Bolivia is once again a colony of the United States,” in a publication on his X account.

“Bolivians are handed over to the North American Empire, violating international agreements, without first being tried in their homeland where they supposedly committed crimes,” he added.

In 2008, Morales expelled the US ambassador and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from Bolivia for allegedly conspiring against his government.

Morales himself is under investigation for alleged rape and human trafficking, which he denies. His supporters recently staged blockades across the country for weeks demanding an end to the investigation against him.

In November, he shared a video of his car being shotin what he described as an “attempted murder” against him.

The Bolivian government rejected Morales’ claims that it was behind the attempt on his life.