On April 29, Bolivian President Evo Morales and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met with Cuban President Fidel Castro in Havana to kick-start the People’s Trade Treaty (TCP). Morales said on April 25 that the treaty will enable the countries to trade goods tariff-free, including coca. The move follows threats by both Venezuelan and Bolivian officials that their respective countries may withdraw from the Andean Community (CAN) unless Colombia and Peru cancel their free trade agreements with the US. The treaty is linked to Chavez’s proposal for the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), an alternative to the US-pushed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

From Green Left Weekly, May 3, 2006.
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