UMOPAR 1992
UMOPAR 1992
Emilio Flores Corpos In May 1992, in Bolivia’s Chapare region, 23-year-old coca leaf grower Emilio Flores Corpos was fatally shot by the Unidad Móvil Policial para Áreas Rurales (UMOPAR), Bolivia’s anti-narcotics police, under circumstances that remain highly contested.
According to an investigation by the Andean Information Network (AIN), Flores and his sister were walking along the road in San Pedro when a UMOPAR vehicle passed them, came to a stop, and then reversed toward them (Human Rights Watch 1995). Perceiving a threat, Flores attempted to flee into the surrounding woods. An officer ordered him to halt; as he turned, he was shot three times—sustaining wounds to the foot, knee, and upper arm.
A DEA officer, who was present in the UMOPAR patrol vehicle, reportedly reprimanded the shooter. However, this intervention occurred post facto. UMOPAR agents transported Flores’s body in their vehicle and later left his remains in a body bag near the site of the shooting. No formal charges were filed, nor was an official investigation conducted.
The U.S. Embassy’s account presents a significantly different narrative. According to their version, UMOPAR personnel were conducting an anti-drug operation targeting maceration pits when they pursued three individuals entering an isolated building (Human Rights Watch 1995). Two individuals fled, while Flores allegedly fired a handgun at UMOPAR agents, prompting a response with an M-16 rifle. The DEA advisor, who remained in the vehicle, claimed to have heard gunfire from both a handgun and a rifle. By the time he arrived at the scene, Flores had sustained fatal injuries. Medical personnel were summoned, but he was pronounced deceased. The Bolivian government deemed the use of force justifiable.
The Federación Especial de Trabajadores Campesinos del Trópico, a local peasant union, contested this account, arguing that Flores and others were fired upon as they attempted to escape, rather than as armed aggressors (“Amnesty International Report 1993” 1993). Another individual, Mario Ovando Glifda, was seriously injured during the same raid. Additionally, dozens of individuals were detained and subsequently released without charge.
The killing of Emilio Flores Corpos garnered international attention. Amnesty International identified his death as a suspected extrajudicial execution, highlighting concerns over the militarization of anti-drug policies in Bolivia. Bolivian coca growers, who had long experienced state repression under U.S.-backed anti-narcotics operations, condemned the incident as a further manifestation of foreign intervention infringing upon their rights. Years later, former Bolivian president Evo Morales, a prominent leader among coca growers, commemorated the event in a 2019 tweet (“Como Hoy, 1992, Nuestro Hermano Dirigente, Néstor Bravo, Denunció Que La DEA y UMOPAR Asesinaron Al Cocalero Emilio Flores Curpo, de 23 Años. Pese a Nuestros Reclamos y Movilizaciones, Los Gobiernos Neoliberales Reprimieron a Nuestro Pueblo Por Sumisión a La Injerencia de #EEUU.” 19AD):
“Como hoy, 1992, nuestro hermano dirigente, Néstor Bravo, denunció que la DEA y UMOPAR asesinaron al cocalero Emilio Flores Curpo, de 23 años. Pese a nuestros reclamos y movilizaciones, los gobiernos neoliberales reprimieron a nuestro pueblo por sumisión a la injerencia de #EEUU.”
Despite persistent calls for accountability, the death of Emilio Flores Corpos remains unresolved, obscured by conflicting official narratives and the absence of judicial recourse.
Castro The events surrounding the death of a coca leaf vendor in June at the hands of UMOPAR (Leopards) antinarcotics troops illustrate the severe human rights abuses associated with drug enforcement policies in the region. According to testimony from Mr. Castro’s wife, her husband was engaged in the sale of coca leaves when he was confronted by UMOPAR officers, who confiscated his goods and detained him (“Human Rights Violations Stemming from the ‘War on Drugs’ in Bolivia | Transnational Institute” 2020). When he protested, they subjected him to physical violence.
Despite his wife’s pleas for his release, both she and her husband were forcibly taken into a vehicle, where the violence escalated. The detainee was repeatedly beaten, resulting in severe injuries, including a broken arm and leg. His wife recounted that he continued to request his release, only to be met with further brutality.
Upon arrival at a medical clinic, the Leopards reported that the man had been injured in a traffic accident. However, the doctor recognized the severity of his condition and recommended a transfer to Cochabamba for medical care. The officers opted not to follow the doctor’s instructions. Instead, they abandoned the victim on the side of the highway, disregarding both his critical state and his wife’s desperate cries for assistance. Efforts were made to transport him to Cochabamba but the injuries he sustained proved fatal and he succumbed to his wounds en route.
Melgars In July, Sebastián Melgar, a farmer from the San Lucas colony in the Chapare Tropical region, was detained by UMOPAR officers. Reports indicate that during his detention, he was subjected to severe physical abuse. By the time he succumbed to his injuries at the Chapare Tropical Hospital on August 4, medical examinations documented multiple contusions and fractures in the bones of his hands—injuries consistent with sustained and deliberate physical violence (Navarro Miranda 2006).
The case of Juan Carlos Melgar Estertary’s death in August was described as the result of an armed confrontation with police in Santa Cruz. However, forensic evidence challenged this narrative, revealing that he had been struck by eight bullets, some fired at close range, and that his body bore injuries consistent with torture (“Amnesty International Report 1993” 1993). His family publicly disputed the official version and called for an investigation, yet, according to Amnesty International, no inquiry had been initiated.
The deaths of Emilio Flores Corpos, Castro, and Sebastián Melgar exemplify the human rights violations resulting from Bolivia’s U.S.-backed counter-narcotics operations manifested in the UMOPAR. Marked by excessive force, contested narratives, and a lack of accountability, these cases reflect broader patterns of state violence against coca-growing communities. The failure to investigate and prosecute such abuses underscores systemic impunity. At the same time, the militarization of drug enforcement has not only failed to curb cocaine production. Still, it has also deepened social and political tensions, contributing to long-term resistance movements and playing a critical role in shaping Bolivia’s political trajectory.