Maximiliano Davila-Perez, the former chief of Bolivia's anti-narcotics agency, was extradited to the United States this morning to face serious charges of cocaine importation and weapons offenses. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Davila-Perez allegedly utilized his high-ranking position to actually aid cocaine traffickers he was supposed to combat. He is expected to make his initial appearance before a federal judge in New York later today.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams explained, "Maximiliano Davila-Perez abused his position to instead aid the very narcotics traffickers he was entrusted to investigate and arrest." In a statement obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice, Williams emphasized the global reach of U.S. law enforcement and promised to not allow such actions to go unpunished.
During Davila-Perez's tenure at Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico, or FELCN, he is alleged to have conspired with traffickers, offering protection for cocaine shipments using officers and weapons under his command. Evidence, including recordings from 2019, point to plans to transport over one ton of cocaine to the U.S. by airplane. Safety for these nefarious operations was to be supposedly guaranteed by uniformed FELCN officers armed with machineguns, according to details from the indictment.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram also took a firm stand on the matter, stating, "Maximiliano Davila-Perez was supposed to fight the drug trade, but instead he fueled it." As reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, she conveyed the gravity of such a betrayal and the DEA's commitment to relentlessly pursue justice against corrupt officials.
Davila-Perez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison for conspiring to import cocaine, alongside a maximum term of life for conspiring to use and possess machineguns in connection with the importation conspiracy. These charges are allegations at this time, and Davila-Perez remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. The efforts of various DEA divisions and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs were instrumental in his extradition.
The case continues under the management of the National Security and International Narcotics Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Matthew J.C. Hellman, and David J. Robles leading the prosecution. The collaborative work of the DEA's Special Operations Division and Bilateral Investigations Unit was especially commended by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
