Drug Arrests Bolivia

The Bolivian government Wednesday announced the arrest of a man reputed to be one of that nation's two major cocaine traffickers. Juan Carlos Lisboa Melgar, 35, was arrested Tuesday during a raid on a home in Santa Cruz, a drug-trafficking center 335 miles southeast of La Paz, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gonzalo Torrico said. He said Lisboa, who did not resist arrest, owns the biggest cocaine-processing laboratory ever uncovered in Bolivia. He said it can produce up to 8,800 pounds a week.

The U.S. ambassador to Bolivia said Friday that a jailed former interior minister has ordered his assassination in revenge for the envoy's role in bringing him to justice. The former minister, Luis Arce Gomez, is in jail in Miami, awaiting trial on drug-trafficking charges. Neither his attorney nor the prosecutor were immediately available for comment on the ambassador's allegation. The ambassador, Robert S.

Bolivian police seized Roberto Suarez Gomez, considered one of the top cocaine traffickers in South America. Suarez, 56, is wanted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and has been called by authorities the godfather of Bolivia's illegal cocaine trade and a major supplier of drugs to the Medellin, Colombia, drug cartel. Upon hearing news of the capture, Miami's Chief Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Gregorie said, "He's the biggest cocaine producer in the world."

One of South America's most important drug-trafficking networks has been destroyed in raids by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Bolivian police, officials said. At least 300 anti-drug police and 20 DEA agents destroyed cocaine-processing labs and confiscated airplanes, radio transmission facilities, ranches and mansions, Don Ferrarone, DEA chief in Bolivia, said Friday. A U.S. agent was wounded in gunfire during the raids, which began Monday.

The U.S. ambassador to Bolivia said Friday that a jailed former interior minister has ordered his assassination in revenge for the envoy's role in bringing him to justice. The former minister, Luis Arce Gomez, is in jail in Miami, awaiting trial on drug-trafficking charges. Neither his attorney nor the prosecutor were immediately available for comment on the ambassador's allegation. The ambassador, Robert S.

One of South America's most important drug-trafficking networks has been destroyed in raids by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Bolivian police, officials said. At least 300 anti-drug police and 20 DEA agents destroyed cocaine-processing labs and confiscated airplanes, radio transmission facilities, ranches and mansions, Don Ferrarone, DEA chief in Bolivia, said Friday. A U.S. agent was wounded in gunfire during the raids, which began Monday.

The Bolivian government Wednesday announced the arrest of a man reputed to be one of that nation's two major cocaine traffickers. Juan Carlos Lisboa Melgar, 35, was arrested Tuesday during a raid on a home in Santa Cruz, a drug-trafficking center 335 miles southeast of La Paz, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gonzalo Torrico said. He said Lisboa, who did not resist arrest, owns the biggest cocaine-processing laboratory ever uncovered in Bolivia. He said it can produce up to 8,800 pounds a week.

Bolivian police seized Roberto Suarez Gomez, considered one of the top cocaine traffickers in South America. Suarez, 56, is wanted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and has been called by authorities the godfather of Bolivia's illegal cocaine trade and a major supplier of drugs to the Medellin, Colombia, drug cartel. Upon hearing news of the capture, Miami's Chief Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Gregorie said, "He's the biggest cocaine producer in the world."