Bolivia: Police, military clear critical route amid ongoing protests and shortages

Bolivian police and military forces cleared a vital route south of La Paz on Friday, enabling the passage of food supplies to the capital and its neighbor, El Alto. This operation aims to ease the severe shortages plaguing the cities, which have been under blockade for over a month due to social protests demanding President Rodrigo Paz's resignation.

President Paz, who has been in power for six months, is reportedly preparing to declare a state of exception to grant the military greater authority to lift the blockades imposed by farmers and workers across the country. Before the operation, hundreds of residents had to walk several kilometers to obtain basic necessities like vegetables due to the blocked route connecting La Paz with agricultural communities. Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano oversaw the ground operation, after which President Paz reiterated his call for dialogue over confrontation.

The cities of La Paz and El Alto, along with others like Cochabamba, Oruro, and Potosí, are experiencing shortages of food, medicine, and fuel due to nearly a hundred blockades nationwide. President Paz again accused former leftist President Evo Morales of orchestrating the protests, alleging the use of illicit funds from drug trafficking in Morales's stronghold. Paz suggested Morales is using the public to evade judicial issues, referencing an arrest warrant against Morales for alleged human trafficking, which Morales denies.

Meanwhile, the United States reiterated its support for Paz's government. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated on X that the U.S. is monitoring the situation and warned against the return of a "narco-terrorist" dominance in the region. Morales, a vocal critic of Washington, countered on X, accusing the U.S. of using the "narco-terrorism" narrative to stigmatize social protests and discredit legitimate demands. The protesters, initially focused on the country's worst economic crisis in four decades, now demand Paz's resignation.

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Bolivia no debe permitir que el viejo statu quo de dominio narco‑terrorista en la región vuelva a imponerse