Bolivia: a powerless president and an out-of-control narco-state

By: Hugo Marcelo Balderrama - 12/05/2026

Guest columnist.
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On May 4th, the governors and mayors elected in the recent regional elections took office. While in Santa Cruz, as expected, the vision favoring economic freedoms, competitiveness, and progress prevailed, in the rest of the country, with a few exceptions, strongman politics took hold—Manfred Reyes Villa, for example—and candidates aligned with 21st-Century Socialism, such as Leonardo Loza, are the most notable cases.

Indeed, Leonardo Loza invited the ambassadors of Russia and Iran to his inauguration. This was not merely a formality, but a clear affront to President Rodrigo Paz's administration, a reminder that they still wield power, even though Paz is the president.

Furthermore, it's important to remember that many of the strategies used by the Bolivian left in the conflicts of the early 2000s, including the Water War, Black February, and the Gas War, were methods learned from the Iranians. Do you recall how the "social movements" placed women and the elderly on the front lines? This is a carbon copy of the Sar Allah (Warriors of God), a squad made up of women and children who marched ahead of tanks and soldiers to clear minefields during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

As if that weren't enough, another factor must be added to all of the above: organized crime.

Since 2020, seizures of Bolivian cocaine in Brazil have increased, especially in the border state of Mato Grosso. This phenomenon indicates Bolivia's growing importance as a country of origin and transit for a large portion of the cocaine destined for European markets. Grover Colque, an expert in security and crime prevention, explains:

The country remains the world's third-largest producer of cocaine, and it is estimated that between 27 and 40 percent of Bolivia's coca production is used for illicit purposes, while the remainder enters the legal market. The country's location at the heart of South America's drug trafficking network, along with weak and corrupt security forces, also facilitates Bolivia's role as a transit country for narcotics destined for Brazil, Paraguay, the United States, Europe, and increasingly, Asia. Approximately half of Peru's cocaine passes through the air bridge between Peru and Bolivia, and drug flights between the Andean nation and its neighbors are steadily increasing.

Additionally, Mexican, Brazilian, and Colombian cartels have had a presence in Bolivia for the past two decades. In fact, two of Colombia's most powerful criminal organizations, Los Urabeños and Los Rastrojos, are suspected of operating in the eastern part of the country.

Similarly, according to the Brazilian Public Prosecutor's Office, the First Capital Command (PCC), Brazil's most dangerous gang, has 146 members operating in Santa Cruz, Beni, and Cochabamba. Bolivia ranks as the fourth country with the highest number of PCC members outside of Brazil, surpassed only by Paraguay (699), Venezuela (656), and Uruguay (150).

The Tren de Aragua is a criminal gang of Venezuelan origin. This mafia has controlled northern Chile since 2018 and is dedicated to the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation as its main source of income, even more so than drug and arms trafficking. But it also engages in extortion, contract killings, money laundering, and has now expanded its reach into illegal mining. In Bolivia, there is a group that operates primarily along the border with Chile. The town of Pisiga was the first Bolivian settlement reached by the Tren de Aragua, and from there they expanded to cities such as Santa Cruz de la Sierra, La Paz, Cochabamba, and Oruro.

According to Douglas Farah, an expert on third-generation gangs, a very dangerous alliance is forming in Bolivia between Islamic radicals, with the support of Iran, and transnational organized crime groups, which, in one way or another, end up responding to the Castro dictatorship.

In conclusion, Bolivia has a powerless president in an out-of-control narco-state.

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».