Ex-narcotics chief known as “Macho” deported from Bolivia nearly 3 years after US offered $5 million reward

The former Bolivian anti-narcotics chief was extradited to the United States on Thursday to face federal drug trafficking charges in a New York court.

Authorities said Maximiliano Davila, who served as anti-drug chief in the final months of Evo Morales’ 2006-2019 administration, helped facilitate plane shipments of cocaine to the United States. According to US Department of JusticeDavila used his position “to secure access to Bolivian airports for the transport of cocaine and to arrange Bolivian law enforcement members under his command—including individuals armed with machine guns—to provide protection for those quantities of drugs.”

David – from Authorities say Also known as “Macho” – he boarded a private plane sent from the United States specifically for his extradition.

On February 2, 2022, US Department of State A reward of up to $5 million was announcedFor information leading to Davila’s conviction. He is charged with conspiracy to provide the highest level of security for cocaine shipments to the United States as well as related weapons charges involving the possession of machine guns. According to the State Department, Davila allegedly “used his position to protect aircraft used to transport cocaine to third countries, for subsequent distribution in the United States.”

In late November, Bolivia’s Supreme Court approved Davila’s immediate extradition to the United States, and he has denied any wrongdoing.

Morales expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration from Bolivia in 2008, accusing it of plotting to overthrow his government at a time when rising commodity prices and a wave of leftist politics across South America were challenging long-standing American influence in the region. Meanwhile, the two countries have not exchanged ambassadors for more than 15 years.

The drug investigation that led to charges against Davila was initiated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division in 2017, according to court records.

As part of the investigation, criminal informants working under the supervision of the DEA recorded conversations in which one of Davila’s defendants bragged that he had gained access to an MD-11 military cargo plane to transport 60 tons of cocaine to the United States.

His co-defendant, Percy Vasquez Drew, said he “and other traffickers were able to operate with impunity in Bolivia because the DEA and CIA were expelled” and it was easy to bribe the country’s drug enforcement officials. Prosecutors said in court filings.

Vasquez Drew was later arrested in Panama on a US arrest warrant. He pleaded guilty in 2020 to one count of conspiring to smuggle more than 450 kilograms of drugs into the United States. Earlier this year, his sentence was reduced to 100 months in federal prison.

Bolivia is the third largest producer of cocaine in the world.

It is unclear how close Davila is to Morales, the former coca farmer. But the two appeared together in a photo taken in October 2019 to celebrate Morales’ birthday, standing next to several cakes decorated with coca leaves. The former head of the Bolivian National Police also appeared in the photo.

Although the DEA has arrested several Bolivian drug traffickers over the years, including one of Davila’s predecessors, Morales himself has never been charged with drug trafficking. He has strongly condemned the US-led drug war in Latin America and defended the traditional uses of coca – the raw ingredient of cocaine.