Latest Coca Stories

By Helen Popper LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales has walked a careful and pragmatic path in his first two weeks in office, despite predictions he might emulate Venezuela's Hugo Chavez as a leftist antagonist of Washington. The resounding election of leftist Morales as Bolivia's first indigenous president has raised hopes of political stability and economic growth in South America's poorest country, after turmoil that saw angry street protests topple two...

LONDON (Reuters) - Cocaine can cause serious abdominal problems as well as chest pain and breathing difficulties, a leading surgeon said on Friday."Abdominal complications from cocaine abuse are life-threatening and require emergency surgery," said Luke Meleagros, of North Middlesex University Hospital, in Britain's Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.With an estimated 344,000 people using cocaine and 17,000 taking crack cocaine each month in Britain, Meleagros and his...

LONDON -- Cocaine can cause serious abdominal problems as well as chest pain and breathing difficulties, a leading surgeon said on Friday."Abdominal complications from cocaine abuse are life-threatening and require emergency surgery," said Luke Meleagros, of North Middlesex University Hospital, in Britain's Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.With an estimated 344,000 people using cocaine and 17,000 taking crack cocaine each month in Britain, Meleagros and his colleagues fear...

LONDON (Reuters) - Cocaine can cause serious abdominal problems as well as chest pain and breathing difficulties, a leading surgeon said on Friday. "Abdominal complications from cocaine abuse are life-threatening and require emergency surgery," said Luke Meleagros, of North Middlesex University Hospital, in Britain's Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. With an estimated 344,000 people using cocaine and 17,000 taking crack cocaine each month in Britain, Meleagros and his...

By Mary Milliken LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Leftist coca grower leader Evo Morales was sworn in on Sunday as the first indigenous president of Bolivia with ambitious plans to overhaul South America's poorest nation and reverse five centuries of discrimination against the Indian majority. The latest in a string of leftists to come to power in the region in a backlash against U.S.-backed free-market policies, Morales won 54 percent of the vote on December 18, the biggest margin of...

By Mary Milliken LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Leftist coca grower leader Evo Morales was sworn in on Sunday as the first indigenous president of Bolivia with high expectations of a better life for the poor majority in one of Latin America's most volatile countries. The latest in a string of leftists to sweep to power in the region in a backlash against U.S.-backed free-market policies, Morales won 54 percent of the vote on December 18, the biggest landslide since the return to...

By Mary Milliken LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivia will swear in leftist Evo Morales as its first indigenous president on Sunday in a explosion of pride for the poor Indian majority that hopes one of its own can quickly improve their lot. Morales, an Aymara Indian who herded llamas as a boy, takes office after winning 54 percent of the vote on December 18 in the biggest landslide since the country's return to democracy in 1982. Indians and miners, chewing coca leaves and listening to...

By Mary Milliken LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivia will swear in leftist Evo Morales as its first indigenous president on Sunday in a festive climate as the poor Indian majority celebrates the long-awaited rise to power of one of its own. Morales takes office after winning 54 percent of the vote on December 18 in the biggest landslide since the country's return to democracy in 1982. Bolivians rich and poor hope the historic handover will bring stability to their nation, South...

By Mary Milliken LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales -- a longtime critic of the United States -- and Washington's top official for Latin America pledged to work together at a meeting on Saturday but made no mention of the war on drugs that divides them. Thomas Shannon, the new U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, called their first encounter "very important" and wished Morales success in his presidency that begins with...

BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday accused the CIA of masterminding the theft of Bolivian surface-to-air missiles last year to prevent them from falling into the hands of leftist President-elect Evo Morales. Chavez, who often accuses Washington and the CIA of plots against his self-proclaimed socialist revolution, gave no evidence of his claim. Yet his allegations have moved the missile crisis to the center stage of growing suspicion among South...