News from Bolivia

 Nearly half a ton of drugs was found in a Bolivian-registered aircraft that was intercepted in an open field in the town of Luis Palacios, 25 kilometers from Rosario, Argentina. According to reports, federal forces conducted a sweep of the aircraft, which entered Argentine airspace without authorization and was intercepted on National Route 34, about 15 kilometers from San Lorenzo. The incident occurred late Wednesday afternoon when Air Force radars detected the entry of the aircraft coming from the north of the country. Through the aerial surveillance system, federal forces tracked the aircraft’s path, which ended up landing in an open field in an attempt to evade federal control. As soon as the aircraft touched down, National Gendarmerie personnel surrounded the area and secured the plane. During the inspection, authorities found a shipment consisting of packages totaling 475 kilograms of cocaine, according to Argentine government spokesman Manuel Adorni. "This has been the mos...

 Bolivia's Directorate of Penitentiary Regime reported on Thursday that an inmate at the San Pedro prison in La Paz had prepared a “project” to offer tourist visits inside the prison, a practice that was popular in the early 2000s but, according to authorities, was eradicated at that time. The inmate had printed promotional flyers in English, advertising visits to the prison on Tuesdays and Sundays, along with a WhatsApp number and a QR code, as shown to the media by the General Director of the Penitentiary Regime, Juan Carlos Limpias. "This inmate is now in isolation. As appropriate, the prison center authority, Colonel (Sergio) Sillerico, has called on the Special Force Against Crime (Felcc) to open a new investigation into this situation," he said. The official noted that the inmate had been imprisoned for murder for four years, was released, and then re-incarcerated on a drug-related case. According to Limpias, the case is already under investigation, and authorities ...

 In the past five years, gas and minerals have been Bolivia's main exports to Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa, the founding countries of the BRICS group of emerging economies. Experts have expressed both support and opposition to Bolivia becoming a full member of this group. The Santa Cruz Chamber of Exporters, Logistics, and Investment Promotion (Cadex) indicated that export statistics from 2017 to 2023 show a trade relationship with these five founding countries. With Brazil, Bolivia has traded $9.867 billion in hydrocarbons, $540 million in non-traditional products, and $288 million in minerals. With China, it has traded $3.694 billion in minerals and $598 million in non-traditional products. With India, exports included $8.214 billion in minerals and $5 million in non-traditional products. With Russia, Bolivia exported $8 million in minerals and $71 million in non-traditional products, while with South Africa, exports included $9 million in non-traditional produc...

 Bolivia has been accepted as a partner country of BRICS, along with 12 other countries. This was announced through the social media channels of this bloc of emerging economies. Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are the new additions. Bolivian President Luis Arce arrived in Russia on Tuesday night (Bolivian time) to participate in the XVI BRICS Summit. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov stated to the Russian state news agency TASS that "it will be necessary to discuss with them (the 13 newly incorporated partner countries) the extent to which they are prepared for full membership or any other BRICS membership." According to Ushakov, the issue of obtaining partner country status is "a topic of consultations between delegations; it will be considered by the leaders" of the BRICS states, TASS reported, as cited by the Watcher Guru portal. Unlike a BRICS partner, official members have v...

 The era of the prosecutor who served during the governments of Evo Morales, Jeanine Áñez, and Luis Arce has ended. Legal experts remind him of cases of torture, the death of Marco Aramayo, the torture of César Apaza, and the persecution of political opponents, which cast a shadow over his tenure. Juan Lanchipa's term as Attorney General has concluded. Before leaving office, the outgoing authority gave a positive evaluation of his work, claiming he leaves behind a renewed institution with a procedural backlog of less than 20%. However, two constitutional lawyers discredited Lanchipa's administration, alleging that he aligned with the interests of the three governments he served (Evo Morales, Jeanine Áñez, and Luis Arce) and showed no signs of independence. In this context, they questioned him for pursuing ordinary trials against Áñez after he himself requested a trial in accordance with her role. Criticism also arises from the permissiveness of human rights violations against t...

 The accusation was made by the former president of the Confederation of Intercultural Women, who urged leaders not to stay silent about what they witnessed in the neighboring country. The father of the alleged victim of statutory rape and trafficking involving Evo has been sent to jail in Tarija. Accusations of statutory rape surround him. Angélica Ponce, one of the intercultural leaders who was close to Evo Morales during his presidency and accompanied him at various political events, made a strong allegation against the coca grower leader. The woman revealed that while the former president was in Argentina as a political refugee (2019-2020) — during Alberto Fernández's presidency — he lived with four underage girls. "Once again, Bolivian justice must prove that it stands with the victims and not with an executioner who did what he wanted with women’s human rights. It is important to recognize that Evo Morales did live in Argentina with minors, I am a witness to that," ...

 The green lungs are suffering from the flames that have already consumed six million hectares of forests. On Monday, help was requested to aid Madidi, and now aircraft are being deployed in Noel Kempff. While residents in northern La Paz are awaiting help to extinguish the flames in Madidi, a fire has been reported in the border area with Brazil in Santa Cruz's Noel Kempff Mercado Park. The Incident Command in San Ignacio de Velasco has deployed aircraft to address this emergency. Juan Xavier Pérez, from the Bolivia-Brazil Binational Incident Command, reported that a fire is affecting Noel Kempff Mercado Park near the Brazilian border. Fires have also been reported in other areas of San Ignacio de Velasco, such as Porvenir, Monte Cristo Tiquín, Cerro Pelado, Picaflor, and Florida. He noted that priority is being given to aerial firefighting efforts in Porvenir and Noel Kempff, where water drops are being carried out. Aerial operations are also underway in Florida, the park's g...

 The national director of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA) reported that, as of October 8, 9.8 million hectares have been affected by wildfires across the country. The report states that 61% of the fires are concentrated in forested areas. According to the report, Santa Cruz is the most affected department with 68% of burn scars, while Beni accounts for 28%, and La Paz for 3%. These areas include 26 municipalities and 34 communities, mobilizing 1,256 firefighters nationwide to combat the fire outbreaks. Compared to last week, the affected areas have been reduced, from 70 to 43 active fire zones. "The situation is critical, but we have made significant progress in the last week," Núñez assured. Affected Areas The report presented by Núñez differentiates by property type. Non-available lands, such as national parks, protected areas, and forest reserves, account for 28% of the burned hectares. Meanwhile, lands available for settlement represent 9%. Medium-sized a...

 The State Attorney General's Office has ordered the Departmental Prosecutor of La Paz, William Alave, to process a request for a migration alert and to open an investigation against former president Evo Morales for alleged corruption committed during his administration. The note, signed by the Director of Fiscal Management and Supervision, Roberto Ignacio Almendras Gamarra, and addressed to William Alave, refers to a letter sent by former parliamentarians Amilcar Barral and Yesenia Yarhui, who on October 9 requested an investigation into Morales. "I forward this note and its background to your authority's attention, so that within the framework of your powers established in Article 34.3 of Law 260, you process it accordingly, and that the prosecutors in charge of the cases referred to therein determine what is appropriate in law," reads the letter shared by Barral on his social media. In the letter addressed to the Attorney General, Juan Lanchipa, Barral and Yarhui s...

 FIFA conducted an interview with the Santos and Bolivia national team player ahead of their match against Colombia. He spoke about his beginnings in football and the challenge of getting Bolivia back to the World Cup. Miguel Terceros, the young Bolivian midfielder, has begun to make his mark on international football. In a recent interview with FIFA, Terceros shared his unique journey from humble beginnings to becoming one of the brightest prospects for the national team. Trained at Brazil’s Santos, the same club that produced legends like Pelé and Neymar, Miguel is determined to lead Bolivia to new heights in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. From a very young age, Miguel showed his passion for football. “I started when I was five or six, playing on my neighborhood field,” he recalled. His father, who saw him play, became his first scout and encouraged him to pursue his dream. "His father, acting as a scout, gave the first push to Terceros’ football adventure. Close to home...

The lines to purchase rice at a lower price than in the markets grew longer this Friday at the supermarket of the state-owned Empresa de Apoyo a la Producción de Alimentos (Emapa), located on Cristo Redentor Avenue in Santa Cruz, between the seventh and eighth ring. The arroba costs Bs 50.50, and only one is sold per person, with the presentation of an ID card. Many customers arrived at dawn to queue, despite the rain. The regional manager of Emapa emphasized that they have enough rice to serve all buyers. He stated that 12,000 tons are expected to be sold this month. Queues started forming at this Emapa location last week but have increased over the past few days. "In case prices remain high, Emapa has the logistics and necessary resources to begin importing rice, ensuring that the internal market is not affected by speculation," said the national manager of the state entity, Franklin Flores, this Thursday. The official believes there is no reason for price speculation in th...

 Tarija’s departmental prosecutor, Sandra Gutiérrez, confirmed that an arrest warrant has been issued against Evo Morales and the parents of the alleged victim after the former president failed to appear for his testimony. According to Gutiérrez, the legal documents presented by Morales’ defense did not prevent him from appearing. “We are now proceeding according to the law. What follows is issuing the arrest warrant for those who have been duly notified without any violation of their rights. The arrest warrant will be issued so they can appear and provide their informative statement,” said the departmental prosecutor. “We have drafted the non-appearance report without violating any rights. Public defense was summoned, and now the new team of prosecutors will take the appropriate actions,” the prosecutor said after leaving the Lourdes neighborhood Police Station. On Thursday, Evo Morales' lawyer, Jorge Pérez, submitted two legal documents to justify the former president's absen...

  The team of prosecutors is preparing an arrest warrant against former President Evo Morales for failing to appear on Thursday to provide his statement regarding the charges of aggravated statutory rape and human trafficking pending against him, stated Tarija’s departmental prosecutor, Sandra Gutiérrez. Arrest warrants will also be issued for Emeterio Vargas Mamani and Idelsa Pozo Saavedra, the parents of the minor with whom Morales had a relationship, and from whom, according to the prosecution's complaint, a child was born, now 8 years old. “What follows is precisely that: issuing the arrest warrant, as they have been duly notified, without any violation of their rights,” Gutiérrez said. The parents of the minor were summoned for 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, while Morales was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Morales’ lawyer, Jorge Pérez, attended on his behalf, submitting a legal document justifying his client’s absence and claiming a violation of due process. Additionally, Pérez argued that t...

 Bolivia defeated Colombia on Thursday afternoon in the ninth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, at the Municipal Stadium of Villa Ingenio in El Alto. La Verde played with 10 players due to Cuéllar's expulsion in the first half. The winning goal was scored by Miguelito Terceros in the 58th minute of the match, following a deep throw-in that the Santos player took advantage of brilliantly. This result marks La Verde’s third consecutive victory, temporarily placing them in fifth position in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Colombia had several chances to equalize, but goalkeeper Billy Viscarra remained alert. Bolivia secured their third victory under coach Villegas, achieving a perfect 100% record. The result is even more remarkable as Bolivia played with 10 men from the 20th minute after Cuéllar’s expulsion. Unlike Venezuela, who were defeated 4-0 in El Alto, Colombia came to play and pressure Bolivia, creating scoring opportunities both in the first half a...

 The former president made at least seven trips on planes belonging to the Venezuelan state oil company. Morales also uses vehicles previously linked to the company to travel to communities in the country. Evo does not use commercial flights. Evo Morales frequently uses planes and vehicles from the state oil company PDVSA. In November 2019, he ceased to be the president of Bolivia, and since then, he has traveled to different countries on aircraft belonging to the Venezuelan state. In Bolivia, he also moves around in vehicles owned by PDVSA. Experts note that Nicolás Maduro's regime continues to coordinate with the coca grower leader despite having a political alliance with Luis Arce. PDVSA has at least 23 luxury planes in its possession, according to Venezuelan media. Three of them are in Cuba and are used by authorities in that country. None are stationed in Bolivia, but whenever Morales needs one, the aircraft arrives. This happened about seven times over three years. For exampl...

 In response to the magnitude of the forest fires and growing pressure, the Government has officially declared a national disaster, facilitating the arrival of international aid. President Luis Arce officially declared a national disaster due to the forest fires that have devastated eastern Bolivia. This decision comes after weeks of requests from local authorities, organizations, and the public, who were calling for greater intervention to tackle the environmental emergency that has already consumed more than 7 million hectares of forest in Santa Cruz alone. During a meeting with the acting governor of Santa Cruz, Mario Aguilera, and other departmental and municipal authorities, Arce signed Supreme Decree 5235, formalizing the national disaster declaration. "We have approved this decree 5235, which is the declaration of national disasters, so that we can activate everything within our reach to confront these fires that have been concerning us, not just now but for the past three ...