Held to a different standard: The US decertifies Bolivia

The White House’s decision to “decertify” Bolivia’s drug control efforts for the sixth time is no surprise. Since Bolivian President Evo Morales expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2008, the US has portrayed Bolivia as uncooperative and incapable of curtailing illicit drug production and trafficking.

The White House’s corresponding Memorandum of Justification lacks objectivity and attempts to hold Bolivia to higher standards than Peru and Colombia (which are both fully certified), or even the US. As a result, as in previous years, it fails to acknowledge that although problems persist, Bolivia has made steady progress in drug control according to the US’s own yardsticks.

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