Peru appoints Ricardo Soberon as new president of Devida

Andina, August 5, 2011

Drug trafficking expert Ricardo Soberon was appointed as the new executive president of Peru's National commission for the development of life without drugs (Devida).

The appointment was made official through a supreme resolution signed by Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and Prime Minister Salomon Lerner, published on Friday in El Peruano official gazette.

Soberon is a member of the Drugs and Democracy programme at the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute’s and author of several studies and publications on drugs and drug trafficking.

The new Devida’s president recently told Andina news agency that the government must implement a new five-year joint strategy to fight drug trafficking which includes the reduction of rural poverty and the dismantling of criminal organizations.

Moreover, Soberon noted that it is necessary to set goals and indicators (such as the reduction of rural poverty in areas where coca leaf is produced) and provide more economic, social and cultural rights in villages and communities in the Peruvian jungle.