The information below was provided in a 19 May 1995 telephone interview with the director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Centre at Miami International University, who recently returned from field research in Bolivia. According to the director, the only extradition treaty between Bolivia and the United States is one dating from 1900.

The director stated that this treaty obviously did not deal with drug offences, but mainly with common criminals of both Bolivian and American nationality. The director also reported that there is an official extradition treaty under preparation between Bolivia and the United States specifically designed for drug offences, and that it should be enacted by 30 June 1995. According to the director, this extradition treaty "is being done under the gun. It is basically the result of intense pressures from the U.S. on Bolivia, under threats of suspending American economic aid."

Until now, said the source, extradition of Bolivian drug traffickers could be completed under a Bolivian Supreme Court interpretation of the 1900 extradition treaty combined with provisions of the Vienna Convention of 1988.

The director did not know whether there exists an extradition treaty between Bolivia and Canada for similar offences.

For information on the 1900 extradition treaty between Bolivia and the United States, as well as on recent extraditions of Bolivian drug traffickers, please consult the attached documents.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Centre, Miami International University. 19 May 1995. Telephone interview.

Attachments

Drug Trafficking Update [Lima]. 13 February 1995. No. 58. "Bolivia: The Extradition of Rico Toro," pp. 1-2.

_____. 12 September 1994. No. 53. "Region: The Extradition of Traffickers in the Region," p. 2.

_____. 11 November 1991. No. 19. "Bolivia: Extradition, Non-Fulfillment and Money Blocking," p. 2.

_____. 12 August 1991. No. 16. "Bolivia: New Policy Facilitates Drug Traffickers' Surrender," p. 2.

Latin American Weekly Report [London]. 13 April 1995. "Bolivia: Rico Toro Extradited," p. 161.

Latin American Regional Reports: Andean Group [London]. 9 March 1995. "Bolivia: Rico Toro Faces Extradition to US," p. 7.

Painter, James. 1994. Bolivia and Coca: A Study in Dependency. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 80-85.

Additional Sources Consulted

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Latin America Update [Washington]. Monthly.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Weekly.

Latin American Newsletters [London]. Monthly.

Latin American Regional Reports: Southern Cone Report [London].

Latin American Special Reports [London].

Mexico Newspak [Austin, Tx]. Monthly.

NACLA Report on the Americas. Monthly.

Problèmes d'amérique latine. Quarterly.

On-line searches.

Oral sources.