LA PAZ, Oct 11 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — At least 18 soldiers have died so far in operations against smuggling in Bolivia, the vice minister in charge of this mission, Luis Amílcar Velásquez, reported.
On the other hand, smugglers lost some 357 million bolivianos (51 million dollars) in goods they had sought to bring into Bolivia, from July 21 to date, Velázquez added.
“These smugglers are not ordinary people, they are criminals engaged in this trade (…)”, said Velásquez.
Talking to press, the vice minister indicated that during the afore-mentioned period his forces suffered eight deaths, with the number of fatalities on their side totaling 18 troopers since they began operations early in 2024.
In the course of this week, the Vice-Ministry of Fight against Smuggling seized a number of food batches bound for Peru, for some 2.5 million bolivianos (more than 357 thousand dollars).
These smuggled goods included cattle, chicken, potatoes, flour, sugar, rice, oil, corn and eggs.
Last Tuesday, President Luis Arce indicated that the borders should be militarized to avoid the so-called reverse smuggling of national products, which all take a toll on internal prices. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
