Christian Velasco Rojas, a leader of La Resistencia Bolivia and a prominent voice in the country’s anti-imperialist left, on May 31 denounced U.S. interference in Bolivia’s internal affairs and rejected the policy of surrendering Bolivia’s natural resources — especially lithium — in exchange for military security for the ruling elites. “We want to denounce that our country is being held hostage by the U.S. and that there is serious interference in the affairs of Bolivians,” Velasco stated.
According to Velasco, military attachés from the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Southern Command are instructing Bolivia’s Defense Ministry and armed forces to suppress protests and social mobilizations. “Military personnel from U.S. Southern Command are telling the Bolivian armed forces’ military command how to intervene in roadblocks, marches, and protests,” he said.
Velasco also charged that infrastructure is being installed for the purpose of spying on the population, and that telecommunications antennas in Cochabamba and La Paz have reportedly been tapped to monitor the communications and data traffic of citizens participating in demonstrations. Bolivia’s ministers of hydrocarbons and mining, he added, met with U.S. officials to negotiate the transfer of strategic resources.
Finally, Velasco alleged that aircraft entering Bolivia under the cover of humanitarian aid are transporting U.S. military personnel. “We denounce that they are using flights with supposed humanitarian aid to bring in U.S. military personnel who are coming to massacre the Bolivian people,” he said.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires
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