More Insight Into Possible U.S. Role in Bolivian Crisis

At left is Bolivian president Evo Morales, receiving a Pre-Incan ceremonial blessing from indigenous wise men upon his election in 2006.

A bit more info on my post from last week on the unrest in Bolivia. You may wonder why I'm even interested in a small, poor South American country. Well, the history of the U.S. government's influence in this hemisphere isn't a good one. And it's our tax dollars that make all that possible. Think about that for a minute. Whether you agree with the tactics or not, "we the people" are responsible for the actions of our government. We claim to be a democracy, so therefore, the responsibility ultimately lies with every single one of us.

So, today's NY Times included a nugget of additional info, saying that Bolivian prez Evo Morales expelled our ambassador in part because he was suspicious that we might be encouraging his opponents. Specifically, this has to do with a U.S. agency called the Office of Transition Initiatives.

According to the Times, the U.S. ended the agency's operations there in 2007, which included "dispensing grants aimed at strengthening departmental [regional] governments, which have taken the lead in opposing Mr. Morales."

Hmm, so, we were giving money to local leaders in Bolivia who just happened to be opposed to Morales. These groups are of white European descent, while Morales in of indigenous origin. And these leaders were mostly once in power--and now they're not. Doesn't look at all suspicious!

Imagine if say, Iran's president were providing "grants" to secessionist groups in the U.S. Imagine how that might look to us.

Of course, our government denies anything improper. To see what the Office of Transition Initiatives officially does, here's a link to the official site.

For a completely different perspective on the agency's work, check out this site from a group in Canada.

It appears the next step is the U.S. will cut some of the $100 million a year that it gives Bolivia in aid and we may slap duties on Bolivian imports like textiles. And maybe that's all fair in love and war. But seriously, this is Bolivia--are they a threat to our national security?

Oh right--the drug/cocaine thing. Drugs are bad, I forget. Well, seeing as plenty of Americans are creating the demand for cocaine, I think we need more attention of our end of the problem instead of spazzing out over what Bolivia is doing.

We have much bigger concerns right now.

And I hope Bolivia can hold it together.