Bolivia: Evo Morales 'Illustrious Son' of Bolivarian Revolution

Bolivian President Evo Morales is Venezuela's "illustrious son," the Bolivarian nation declared, after the International Court of Justice in The Hague favored Chile in the Maritime claims case which came to a close Monday.

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In a statement Wednesday, Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) thanked Morales for his "infinite loyalty" to the Bolivarian revolution and his dedication to easing the "struggles" endured by those in the region.

"Evo Morales Ayma (is) profoundly intertwined with our homelands' libertarian and anti-imperialist mission to leave a better world for future generations," the ANC said.

"Our historic battle has grown and today's challenge is to continue flying the flags of Bolivarian socialism."

Morales responded via his personal Twitter account: "We received the exciting news; we accept the honor and we sincerely thank the Fatherland of Bolivar and (Hugo) Chavez in the name of the unity and brotherhood of our peoples."

On Monday, with a 12 to three vote, the Hague concluded that Chile was under no obligation to share its access to the Pacific Ocean. Morales later said he would continue the fight for sovereign sea access.

The conflict over the maritime boundaries between Bolivia and Chile began in 1828 when the Chilean Constitution established that its territory reached the depopulated sector of Atacama, a declaration that ended with the invasion of the place in 1879. Bolivia lost 400 kilometers of coast and 120,000 square kilometers of territory.

The lawsuit filed in April 2013 called for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean that Bolivia lost by force 136 years ago when its port of Antofagasta was invaded. In September 2015, the Court of The Hague rejected the Chilean request to declare itself incompetent and kept analyzing the positions of the parties involved.