The U.S.’s top anti-drug official affirmed Washington’s support for Peru’s narcotics policy in a visit to Lima
State Department drug policy official William Brownfield met with President Ollanta Humala to discuss how more than $160 million in U.S. funding this year can best support Peru’s anti-narcotics strategy.
After the meeting, Brownfield highlighted the need for cooperation between the two countries to combat the problem of drug trafficking on multiple levels, including the cultivation, production and transport of cocaine, and also financial networks that launder profits from drug trafficking.
Brownfield discussed how the dynamics of the drug trade have changed through time and also noted that the U.S. and other international partners must find the best ways to support Peru’s own national anti-narcotics efforts and not assume that “one strategy fits all.”
Despite causing concern in the U.S. with his decision soon after taking office to suspend coca eradication, Humala has since declared that he wants closer cooperation with Washington on drug policy.