Bolivia gets aid for coca growers. Venezuela to buy all legal products

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has found a novel way to dispense foreign aid: by promising to underwrite coca production in Bolivia.

Chavez says Venezuela will buy whatever legal products Bolivia can make from coca leaf, as part of that southern Andean nation's attempt to wean farmers from the cocaine industry. The promise could finance the production of some 4,000 tonnes of coca leaf in Bolivia, Venezuelan officials say.

Possible coca-based products include soap, bread, herbal teas, toothpaste, unspecified medicines and cooking oils. No dollar amount for Venezuela's support has been announced.

Three factories are under construction in Bolivia with Venezuelan financial and Cuban technical support, and production could begin this summer.

The pledge is the latest in a series of foreign aid promises as Chavez tries to expand his influence and promote his "Bolivarian" revolution – referencing Simon Bolivar, leader of successful revolutions in colonial South America.