Bolivia hardens tone on cocaine 'mega labs', signaling crackdown

FILE PHOTO: A view shows coca growers waiting for customers during the reopening of the coca market of the Departmental Association of Coca Producers (ADEPCOCA) after the organisation's building was partially burned down following months of protests against the market, in La Paz, Bolivia October 10, 2022. REUTERS/Claudia Morales/File Photo

LA PAZ (Reuters) - In a break with the past, Bolivia's government has acknowledged that the country is becoming a production hub for cocaine rather than a mere transport hub and grower of raw coca leaves.

Along with Colombia and Peru, Bolivia is widely recognized as a leading world producer of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, but the government has long maintained production of consumption-ready cocaine was limited.