Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales accused US anti-drug agents of spying on Saturday, and barred them from fighting cocaine traffickers in the Andean country until further notice.
"There were DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agents that were doing political espionage, ... financing criminal groups so that they could act against authorities, even the president," Morales said.
Morales accused the DEA of maintaining ties with anti-government groups that staged violent protests in eastern and central regions governed by the opposition in September. He said the organisation's actions amounted to "conspiracy." "This is a personal decision ... From now on, the DEA is not allowed to act in the country until further notice," said Morales, who stopped short of expelling DEA agents. Morales had already banned DEA flights over the country.
Impoverished Bolivia is the world's third-largest cocaine producer after Colombia and Peru. Last month, the United States added Bolivia to a list of states that had "failed demonstrably" to meet their counter-narcotics obligations.