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News > Latin America

Bolivia Considers Expelling Top US Negotiator

  • Bolivia’s President Evo Morales (right) talks with the Charge d’Affaires of the United States, Peter Brennan, during a meeting at the presidential palace in La Paz.

    Bolivia’s President Evo Morales (right) talks with the Charge d’Affaires of the United States, Peter Brennan, during a meeting at the presidential palace in La Paz. | Photo: Reuters

Published 16 February 2016
Opinion

In the lead up to Bolivia's national referendum, Morales announced that his administration may expel a top U.S. diplomatic official.

Bolivian President Evo Morales announced Tuesday that he will consider expelling Peter Brennan, the lead U.S. negotiator involved in restoring diplomatic relations, following accusations he participated to undermine Morales' administration.

“We are going to evaluate the situation. Under our government we will not tolerate any type of foreign interference in our affairs,” Morales said Tuesday.

RELATED: Bolivians Abroad Prepare for Referendum Vote

President Morales accused Brennan of conducting high-level negotiations with members of the Bolivian political opposition, calling the meetings “an act of aggression.”

The U.S. and Bolivia have not had ambassadors in their respective capitals since 2008, and relations between both countries deteriorated in 2013 when Morales' plane, which was returning to his country from Russia, was prevented from landing in Europe due to rumors that whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board.

RELATED: Bolivia Says Regional Plot Exists to Bring Down the Left

The allegations were proven false and Latin American leaders condemned the action, calling it a form of “neo-colonial intimidation.”

As a result of President Morales’ decisions to expel the U.S. ambassador, along with thr DEA and USAID, U.S. “assistance” to Bolivia fell from US$99.7 million in FY2008 to US$5.2 million in FY2013 and to zero in FY2015.

WATCH: ’Yes' Campaign Gathers Pace in Support of Morales

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