The U.S. State Department recently said it is currently offering up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of Maximiliano Dávila Perez, a Bolivian citizen charged with smuggling cocaine into the U.S. through third world countries.
Additionally, Perez is the former director of Bolivia's Special Forces for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico, or FELCN.
Perez is alleged to have utilized his position as FELCN Director to protect planes used to carry cocaine through third nations for trafficking in the United States.
Perez was also reportedly implicated in drugs trafficking and money laundering prior to his term as FELCN director.
He and his accomplices were officially charged by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York on Sept. 22, 2020.
"The indictment charges Dávila with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and conspiring to use or carry machine guns during and in relation to, and to possess machine guns in furtherance of, the drug trafficking conspiracy," the press release states.
The $5 million reward is provided under the State Department's Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP).
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) oversees the NRP in collaboration with federal law enforcement partners and other government agencies.
Since 1986, the NRP has assisted in the prosecution of over 75 transnational criminals and prominent narcotics traffickers, with the Department awarding over $135 million in rewards.
The Multinational Organized Crime Prizes Program (TOCRP), which was established by Congress in 2013, also assists law enforcement in disrupting and dismantling large transnational criminal organizations.
TOCRP focuses on transnational crimes that undermine national interests, including human and wildlife trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering, and smuggling weapons and other illegal items.
Both programs allow the Secretary of State to provide rewards of up to $25 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of prominent drug traffickers or individuals involved in transnational organized crime.
