Bolivia ambush kills 2 security forces, 8 taken hostage

Eight Bolivian soldiers were being held hostage by suspected coca growers after a firefight that left two security officers dead and 17 wounded.
The troops had been conducting counter-narcotics operations in the town of Apolo, north of the capital La Paz, when they were ambushed by coca growers on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said.
It said police officer Jhonny Reynaldo Quispe Chura, 29, died of his wounds in La Paz "after being hit by a gunshot during an armed ambush perpetrated against Joint Task Forces."
The combined police and military unit of about 170 officers is dedicated to manually eradicating illegal coca crops, but growers complain they often resort to gunfire or beating those who reject the measures.

About 750 growers oppose eradication in the Apolo region, at the entry of the Amazon, while the government says that their crops are illegal.
Interior Minister Carlos Romero, who is primarily responsible for internal security and counter-narcotics, said the attack was perpetrated by Bolivian coca growers and "linked to drug trafficking organizations in our border area with Peru."

Bolivia is home to 25,300 hectares of coca crops, according to the United Nations. Of those crops, only about 12,000 hectares are for legal uses like leaves for chewing and infusions.
Legal coca plantations in the Apolo area must not exceed 280 hectares, although there are no precise figures on the extent of illegal crops.

Military and police have been deployed to the area to rescue the eight soldiers taken hostage, Romero said.
Coca grower leader Hernan Salas contested the official version of events, saying the military had "destroyed every house, gassed children, the elderly, and there was a violent confrontation."
He denied his group was responsible for killing and wounding security forces.