Recent protests against the government in Bolivia are being described as a “coup d’état,” said the number two American diplomat on Tuesday, expressing support for the center-right president Rodrigo Paz, who is the target of the unrest.
“It is a financial coup orchestrated by this unnatural alliance between politics and organized crime throughout the region,” stated Christopher Landau, adding that he had spoken by phone with President Rodrigo Paz, an ally of Donald Trump.
On Monday, protests from various groups against this leader led to violent clashes between protesters and police in La Paz, a city cut off from the rest of the country by roadblocks.
“It is not possible that we have a democratic process in which Rodrigo Paz was elected massively by the Bolivian people less than a year ago, and today we find ourselves with violent protesters blocking the streets,” said Christopher Landau during a conference in Washington. “We should all be very concerned about this.”
Trump and his allies in Latin America
Donald Trump and his administration vigorously defend their conservative allies in Latin American countries.
But in Bolivia, just six months after coming to power, Rodrigo Paz is facing increasing pressure from peasants, workers, miners, and teachers who are denouncing the worst economic crisis Bolivia has experienced in four decades.
On Monday, protesters armed with homemade explosives, sticks, and stones tried to enter the Murillo square, where the presidential palace is located, as reported by AFP. Hundreds of riot police pushed them back with tear gas.
The center-right government accuses former socialist president Evo Morales (2006-2019), who is under a arrest warrant in a case of alleged trafficking of a minor, of being behind the unrest.
Upon taking power, Rodrigo Paz had taken care to restore good relations with the United States by allowing anti-drug agency police officers to intervene in this coca-producing country.
