The World : U.S. Cuts Aid to Bolivia

The United States will reduce its aid to Bolivia by $8.7 million because the South American nation has not done enough to eradicate the coca crop used to manufacture cocaine. State Department spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said Bolivia will lose $7.5 million in economic aid and $1.2 million in military assistance this year. Under 1986 legislation, U.S. aid to both Bolivia and Peru is tied to progress on eradicating narcotics crops. Luis Paz, minister-counselor in the Bolivian Embassy, said that “we are doing our best” to eradicate the coca crop, and he added: “The sanctions imposed by the U.S. government are very helpful to the traffickers but not for my country or the United States.”