News from Bolivia

 Uyuni (Bolivia), Dec 29 (EFE) – At over 3,600 meters above sea level, the world's largest salt desert, the Uyuni Salt Flat, spans 10,582 square kilometers and is one of the favorite destinations for thousands of tourists in Bolivia. Anastasio, a local tour guide from the Andean region of Potosí, told EFE that "the salt settles on the ground during the dry season, and the desert turns white, looking as if it were covered in snow," a sight admired by visitors who take photos and videos, especially at sunset. The desert is accessible only by off-road vehicles, and on its edges are hotels built with salt blocks and a park featuring salt sculptures, one of the tourists' favorite spots, according to the guide. Colchani, a small village home to artisanal salt sculptors and harvesters, lies at the entrance to the desert. It hosts the region’s largest salt factory, which extracts over 20,000 tons of the mineral annually, mostly for human consumption. Another popular site for ...

 Evo Morales left Lauca Ñ on Saturday morning, heading to the municipality of Chimoré. The former president was heavily guarded by a union security team that escorted the coca growers’ leader with several motorcycles and vehicles. Morales participated in the year-end evaluation meeting of the six coca grower federations of the Cochabamba Tropics, where he showed his presence to his base following the announcement of his precautionary measures hearing scheduled for January 14, 2025. This hearing pertains to charges against him for the alleged aggravated crime of human trafficking. The Kawsachun Coca radio station published images of Evo Morales departing Lauca Ñ for Chimoré. Morales rode in a maroon SUV, accompanied by several vehicles both ahead and behind him. On either side, the union security team organized itself, following the leader on motorcycles. Upon arriving at the event venue, Morales stepped out of the vehicle and was greeted with cheers from his supporters. Senators An...

 The U.S.-based firm Laconic Infrastructure Partners announced on Wednesday that it had received a request from the Government of Bolivia to use its SADAR platform. This platform will enable Bolivia to generate economic revenue from the conservation of its forests, rivers, and other ecosystems. These funds will be directed toward achieving the country’s climate goals, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The announcement, published on the specialized platform PR Newswire, explained that by using Laconic’s carbon securitization platform, large-scale environmental data streams will be aggregated to monetize up to $5 billion from Bolivia’s present and future carbon reserves. This marks the first benchmark sovereign carbon sale. According to PR Newswire, SADAR is an innovative tool designed to measure and assess a country’s “natural capital,” encompassing all its natural resources. By assigning economic value to these resources, the platform can attract investments for ...

 Miguel Ángel Lozano Delgado is a lieutenant colonel in the Venezuelan National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB). He resides in the city of La Paz, where he serves as the top executive of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) in Bolivia and is the one who provides vehicles and planes to Evo Morales. Lozano is an avid follower of Hugo Chávez and recently authored a book on the late Venezuelan president. Deputy Jairo Guiteras denounced the interference of Venezuelan military personnel, and his colleague Erwin Bazán requested information from the Ministry of Public Works regarding the use of Venezuelan-registered planes by the coca-grower leader. Lozano Delgado frequently travels between Caracas, La Paz, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. He is a military officer very close to Nicolás Maduro’s regime and was also close during Hugo Chávez's era. According to Venezuela's Ministry of Popular Power for Defense, his last promotion was in 2016 to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He then requested a lea...

 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...