A new class of drug traffickers in Bolivia, Argentina

The focus of the anti-drug movement in the Southern Cone has traditionally been on Bolivian and northern Argentine citizens used as “mules” who transport drugs around the world, according to lavoz.com.ar. But now the drug cartels have employed, for much cheaper, European “mules” posing as tourists who transport the drugs from Bolivia to Argentina, and directly to their final destination in Spain. More than 70% of the drugs distributed throughout Europe enter through Spain. Using Europeans as traffickers was meant to deter police who focus on dark-skinned, Spanish speakers, and overlook the tall, light-skinned, light haired European backpackers with video-cameras. After police arrested a couple of Germans, border controls have upped their searches of tourists, resulting in the arrest of numerous Europeans transporting drugs. Córdoba continues to have a high number of arrests, meaning drugs are being produced on a large scale within the city.
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