Bolivian president rules out US drug agency

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Bolivian President Evo Morales said Monday he wants improved relations with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama but will never allow the U.S. anti-drug agency to return to his country, accusing it of «political aggression. Morales told a news conference the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration _ whose operations he suspended on Nov. 1 _ is not the solution to combatting drug trafficking in Bolivia, which is a major coca producer. The government is setting up a new intelligence operation involving the armed forces and police to fight trafficking, he said. Morales also announced his government is going to launch a campaign to remove the coca leaf from the U.N. list of prohibited drugs. Coca is the raw material for cocaine, but Bolivians use the small green leaf in its less-potent natural form as a traditional tea or for chewing. Bolivia-U.S. relations have deteriorated in recent months as Morales' government limited U.S. drug enforcement agency activities and expelled U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, accusing him of spying and involvement in anti-government protests in the eastern lowlands. Morales accused the drug agency of espionage and funding «criminal groups» trying to undermine his government. «The DEA will not return while I am still president,» Morales said refering to the agency by its initials. «The DEA ... had an intelligence structure, but it wasn't so much to fight drugs, it had more to do with the political aggression against my government. ... In recent times, we've seen some officials of the DEA involved in political conspiracy. The U.S. State Department did not have any comment on Morales' statement. Noting that he was the first native Indian president of Bolivia, and that Obama is the first black president of the United States, Morales said, «I feel that the world has started to change.  «My great desire is to improve diplomatic relations, trade relations, cooperation» with the United States, he said.
The Bolivian president is a close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who in 2005 also suspended his country's cooperation with the U.S. drug agency after accusing its agents of espionage. The Bolivian leader held a news conference after speaking during a General Assembly debate on U.N. reforms and achieving U.N. anti-poverty goals. He was the only head of state to address the session. All other speakers were ambassadors or lower-ranking diplomats.