Bolivia

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Bolivia Wrestles With 'the Weirdest Coup Attempt'

Real or fake, one expert says the nation's democracy remains fragile

(Newser) - Supporters of Bolivia's president rallied outside his palace in La Paz on Thursday, giving political breathing room to the embattled leader as authorities made more arrests in what he called a failed coup a day earlier. The government announced that 17 people had been arrested, including the army chief,...

Bolivian General Arrested After Apparent Coup Attempt

Suspected leader says it was a stunt to increase president's popularity

(Newser) - The Army general accused of being behind a failed coup Wednesday against Bolivia's government was arrested, after the attempt that included armored vehicles ramming the doors of the government palace in La Paz. That was followed by Bolivia's president facing down the general in the palace, the AP...

Bolivia's Challenge: Get World to Drink Coca-Infused Beer

It's part of an effort to destigmatize the plant

(Newser) - If it were anywhere else in South America, the nondescript house with buckets of coca leaves soaking in liquid could be mistaken for a clandestine cocaine lab. But this is La Paz, Bolivia, and the fruity aroma of coca steeping in barrels signals that you've arrived at the government-authorized...

Ex-US Ambassador Pleads Guilty to Spying for Cuba

Victor Manuel Rocha, former diplomat to Bolivia, is said to have helped communist nation for decades

(Newser) - For more than four decades, a diplomat working in the US State Department secretly funneled information to Cuba's communist government. That's according to prosecutors, and now to Victor Manuel Rocha himself, a former ambassador to Bolivia who on Thursday switched his initial plea of not guilty to guilty...

Former US Ambassador Arrested as Secret Agent

Ex-diplomat to Bolivia Manuel Rocha, 73, accused of secretly working to promote Cuba's interests

(Newser) - A former US diplomat has been arrested in Florida, accused of secretly serving as an agent for Cuba. WTSP identifies him as 73-year-old Manuel Rocha, who served as the ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. A source tells the AP , which first reported on Rocha's arrest Friday in...

After Latest Airstrike, Calls for End to Israeli 'War Crimes'

Arab nations condemn Israeli strike on refugee camp as groups claim use of white phosphorus

(Newser) - Dozens of people entered the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt on Wednesday in what appeared to be the first time foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave the besieged territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war more than three weeks ago, the AP reports. Egyptian state-run media...

General Who Captured Che Guevara Is Dead
General Who Captured
Che Guevara Dead at 84
obituary
May 8, 2023 3:00 AM CDT

General Who Captured Che Guevara Dead at 84

Gary Prado Salmón had been struggling with health issues

(Newser) - The Bolivian general who captured Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara in 1967, leading the military operation that took down Guevara's communist insurrection, has died at age 84. The BBC reports that Gary Prado Salmón "became a national hero" after Guevara's capture; the guerrilla fighter was...

After Losing Cat, Airline Calls in Psychic

State-owned Bolivian airline lost passenger's beloved pet more than a month ago

(Newser) - Bolivia's national airline has called in a pet psychic in the ongoing search for Tito, a cat that went missing from a flight more than a month ago. Owner Andrea Iturre says Boliviana de Aviacion—BoA—wouldn't allow her to bring a pet carrier into the cabin on...

South America's Lithium Reserves Are a Boon—Maybe

'Wall Street Journal' looks at the obstacles in extracting one of world's biggest reserves

(Newser) - As the appetite for electric vehicles grows, the Wall Street Journal sees an obstacle in the way of production expanding at a similar clip: South America. The continent is one of three places on Earth—the others being Australia and China—that have substantial reserves of lithium, the metal needed...

Archaeologists Find 'Lost Civilization' in Bolivia

Discovery upends assumptions and demonstrates game-changing technology

(Newser) - When 16th-century Spanish missionaries first wandered into the tropical lowlands of modern Bolivia, they found a few scattered villages, and everyone since then assumed the area was too inhospitable to support large communities. The region has two harsh seasons, extremely dry and extremely wet, and the dense forest made exploration...

Paid Student Leader's 32 Years in College May End

Bolivia judge orders investigation of 52-year-old student with government salary

(Newser) - Max Mendoza has been a remarkably persistent student—and a profitable one: He's been enrolled at a public university in Bolivia for 32 years but never graduated, much of it while being paid a government salary to serve as a student leader. On Monday, though, he was detained and...

The Man Who Executed Che Guevara Has Died
The Man Who Killed
Che Guevara Has Died
obituary
Mar 11, 2022 12:15 AM CST

The Man Who Killed Che Guevara Has Died

Mario Teran carried out the order of the Bolivian president

(Newser) - Mario Teran "simply complied with his duty as a sergeant of the army," says a retired Bolivian general—but the order he carried out was one he reportedly later described as causing "the worst moment of my life." Teran, the man who executed Ernesto "Che"...

Ex-President of Bolivia Recovering After Apparent Suicide Attempt

Jeanine Anez, charged with 'genocide,' in stable condition after apparently cutting her arms

(Newser) - On Friday, Bolivian prosecutors charged Jeanine Anez—the former president of Bolivia, already in detention after being accused in March of leading a coup against another ex-Bolivian president, Evo Morales—with "genocide." Police are now saying the 54-year-old Anez tried to kill herself over the weekend in jail....

Nation's Ex-President Arrested: 'Political Persecution Has Begun'

Jeanine Anez denies she replaced Evo Morales in Bolivian 'coup,' calling it a 'constitutional succession'

(Newser) - Bolivian President Evo Morales served for nearly 14 years before he was forced to resign in 2019 amid allegations of electoral fraud after his reelection victory. Now, the lawmaker who took over for him has been arrested. Jeanine Anez, the country's former interim president, posted a link Friday on...

Victory by Morales' Party Could Swing Bolivia Left

Arce claims victory and suggests stopping the nation's shift to the right

(Newser) - Evo Morales' party has claimed victory in a presidential election that appears to sharply shift Bolivia away from the conservative policies of the US-backed interim government that took power after the leftist leader resigned and fled the country a year ago. The leading rival of Morales's handpicked successor, Luis...

Protesters in Mexico: 'We Were Not Discovered'

Demonstrators in several nations mark Columbus Day in the streets

(Newser) - Mexicans have never had much affection for Cristopher Columbus, and officials were coy about why his statue was removed from the capital's main boulevard before Monday's observances of Columbus Day, which saw protests in several Latin American nations. Unlike in other cities where monuments to the 15th-century explorer...

Another World Leader Tests Positive
Another World Leader 
Has the Virus
Jul 10, 2020 12:31 AM CDT

Another World Leader Has the Virus

Bolivia’s interim president tests positive for COVID-19

(Newser) - Bolivia’s interim president, Jeanine Áñez, has tested positive for COVID-19. "I feel good, I feel strong, I will continue to work virtually from my isolation," she says in a video posted to her Twitter account, per NPR . Three cabinet ministers in her administration have also...

Teacher Breaks the Mold With Online Classes

Jorge Manolo Villarroel's online classes have actually become popular

(Newser) - Sometimes, Jorge Manolo Villarroel is Spiderman. Sometimes, he's the Flash, or the Green Lantern. But he’s always a teacher—one who lives out his childhood dreams by dressing up as superheroes for the locked-down students who attend his virtual classes, the AP reports. His classes have become so...

Morales Arrives in Mexico, Leaving Chaos in His Wake

Opposition leader declares herself Bolivia's interim president

(Newser) - An opposition leader in Bolivia's Senate has declared herself the country's interim president after the resignation of Evo Morales, the AP reports. The 52-year-old Jeanine Añez, the Senate's second vice president, took temporary control of the Senate late Tuesday, putting her next in line for the...

President Who Had Fairy-Tale Rise Resigns

Fast-moving developments lead to Bolivian President Evo Morales' exit

(Newser) - Bolivian President Evo Morales announced his resignation Sunday under mounting pressure from the military and the public after his re-election victory triggered weeks of fraud allegations and deadly protests. The decision came after a day of fast-moving developments, including an offer from Morales to hold a new election. But the...

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