MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s drug control service head said Tuesday that Moscow will contribute to a new South American anti-drugs program, and proposed the launch of counter-narcotics training courses for agents in Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador.
“During a trip to Peru, we set up courses for anti-drug police and we also proposed that Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador join [the program]. There is, in principle, interest in this [proposition],” Viktor Ivanov said at a RIA Novosti press conference.
Last week, Ivanov arrived in Peru to participate in a ceremony marking the launch of courses for anti-drug police there, organized by Russia's Federal Drug Control Service (FKSN).
Ivanov then traveled to Nicaragua and participated in the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the building of a regional anti-drug law enforcement training center in the Nicaraguan capital Managua.
Russia’s drug control service chief expressed hope Tuesday that the center would be built by the end of the year. “We hope that by the yearend the building will be constructed. This will allow us to work more efficiently,” he said.
In May last year, Russia’s drug control service launched anti-drug training courses in Nicaragua. The first participants of the courses were police agents from Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Honduras.
