Bolivian President
Defends Expulsion of
U.S. Ambassador
La Paz - Bolivian
President Evo Morales
said Tuesday that the
September expulsion of
U.S. Ambassador Philip
Goldberg was "a success
and not a mistake
because it "thwarted "
an opposition coup plot.
At an evaluation meeting
of his third year as
president, Morales said
that he did not make a
mistake in deciding the
"ambassador had to go,"
after his party "had
endured the assault of
the (Bolivian)
right-wing."
Five of Bolivia's nine
provinces are controlled
by the opposition, whose
objections to Morales'
new constitution, the
centerpiece of his
program to distribute
more of the nation's
wealth to the
impoverished majority,
created political unrest
in September.
On Sept. 10, Morales
declared the U.S.
ambassador "persona non
grata" and ordered him
to "immediately" leave
the country, accusing
him of encouraging,
together with the
opposition, protests
against his government.
Washington called
Morales's decision "a
grave error."
On Sept 13, U.S.
President George W. Bush
responded by expelling
Gustavo Guzman, Bolivian
ambassador to the United
States.
The actions set
Bolivian-U.S. ties at
its lowest level,
worsened by Bolivia's
suspending the
activities of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA) and the Central
Intelligence Agency
(CIA) in the country.
The Bolivian president
said earlier this month,
however, that ties with
the U.S. could be
re-examined once U.S.
president-elect Barack
Obama takes office on
Jan. 20. |
