Bolivia coca ambush leaves 4 security force members dead

A weekend ambush and hostage-taking involving police and Bolivian coca growers has left four people dead, officials said.
Two members of a military and police team working to eradicate coca crops died in a firefight Saturday, officials said yesterday.
Eight hostages were taken, and two were found dead on yesterday. The other six hostages were rescued or escaped, and some were wounded.
A total of 14 people were wounded in the fighting, said Interior Minister Carlos Romero.
He said the coca growers were linked to drug traffickers, reportedly with foreign connections. The fighting happened in the Apolo region, 410 kilometers north of the capital La Paz.

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 stand in their way.

About 750 growers oppose eradication in the Apolo region, at the gateway to the Amazon, while the government says that their crops are illegal.
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 making coca tea.
Legal coca plantations in the Apolo area must not exceed 280 hectares, although there are no precise figures on the extent of illegal crops.

Over the weekend, coca growers' 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.