Peace Corps Yanked Out of Bolivia

A view of Bolivia's capital La Paz

Tracking news from Bolivia ever since it expelled the U.S. ambassador has been difficult. But the latest is that the U.S. has pulled out all 113 Peace Corps volunteers from the country, saying the situation there is too dangerous as a result of clashes between Morales' government and opposition groups. Volunteers, of course, are upset to leave projects undone, and some say there is no threat to Americans.

PC volunteers say they can't believe this is happening--but, excuse me, isn't the PC an arm of the U.S. government? Sure, it does great things. I have 2 friends who are former volunteers, and I toyed with the idea myself. But there are restrictions on what volunteers can and cannot do, per the U.S. government--so no surprise, really, that we would be pulling out. Bolivia has even accused the PC in the past of spying for the U.S. government. So, yeah, we're taking our toys and going home.

The Bush administration is also close to cutting trade benefits to Bolivia as a result of recent actions by Morales. This seems to mostly involve allowing Bolivia to import its goods into the U.S. duty-free. Last I could tell, the bill had yet to be approved by both houses of Congress.

These benefits are also dependent on how Latin American countries cooperate with the DEA on anti-drug efforts. Morales isn't helping matters by recently refusing to allow DEA surveillance flights over Bolivia.

I'm really curious to see how this plays out and how it will change our relationship with Latin America. In the meantime, Bolivia's neighbors are standing behind the Morales government and against the more U.S.-friendly opposition forces.

Stay tuned!