Bolivia shows how Andean nations can be punished by U.S. neoliberal soft power if they refuse to assist in the ‘war on drugs’

For three decades, the U.S. has attempted to impose a neoliberal economic model of free markets, trade and investment to the countries of Latin America. This free market push, however, has not extended to drugs, which the U.S. considers to be a security rather than an economic issue. James F. Siekmeier writes that Andean nations go along with U.S. antidrug policies because of U.S. neoliberal ‘soft power’. Taking Bolivia as an example, he writes that those countries that refuse to participate in the unpopular U.S sponsored ‘war on drugs’ face the withdrawal of U.S. government assistance and trade relations.