The government of Bolivia expelled Colombia’s ambassador to la Paz, Elizabeth Garcia, in response to comments made by President Gustavo Petro about ongoing unrest in the Andean country.
In a press statement, Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry said it ordered the ambassador to leave “to uphold the principles of sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, and mutual respect among states.”
The country’s foreign minister, Fernando Aramayo, reportedly said the decision was due to to Petro’s online commentary on an ongoing general strike and alleged plans by the United States to kidnap Evo Morales, Bolivia’s former president.
The Foreign Ministry said that the expulsion of the president did not affect the “historic Ties of friendship, cooperation and respect” between La Paz and Bogota.
For a week, the government of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz has been facing a general strike by miners, farm workers and indigenous communities demanding his resignation.
On Sunday, Paz’s Colombian counterpart called the general strike “a people’s insurrection” and said his government “is willing, if invited, to seek peaceful solutions to the political crisis in Bolivia.”
On Tuesday, Petro asked the US Government “not to attack [Bolivia’s] ex-President Evo Morales” and “not to confuse the social struggle of coca-growing farm workers with drug trafficking.”
An attack on a legitimate former president and indigenous leader like Evo Morales will only lead to bloodshed throughout Latin America. As the motto on the original U.S. flag states, it is through respect for diversity and dialogue that democracy and freedom will flourish in the Americas.
President Gustavo Petro
In an interview with US news website Grayzone, Morales claimed that the CIA tried to abduct him in October of 2024.
The former president is one of the most prominent supporters of the general strike in his country.
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