Latin America - Bolivia, Evo Morales | Venezuela

Fight Imperialism with Unity, Says Morales Evo Morales speaks at the University of Panama as part of the People's Summit, an alternative summit running in parallel to the OAS' Summit of the Americas, April 4, 2015. EFE Published 10 April 2015 (10 hours 37 minutes ago) U.S. imperialism is being challenged by regional organizations like CELAC, according to Bolivia’s president. Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the United States Friday of conspiring to undermine democracy in Latin America, including in his home country. During a keynote address to the People's Summit in Panama, Morales said the United States has been one of the most serious threats to Bolovia's national security, and his own presidency. “Where there is a U.S. embassy, there are coups,” Morales said. The president alleged the U.S. government has been plotting to overthrow him for years. “The (Bolivian) right-wing, the opposition and the U.S. ambassador have always conspired … against the (revolutionary) process,” he said. However, he said regional initiatives aimed at promoting Latin American solidarity are the region's best defenses against U.S. imperialism. “I think actually the member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), are a threat to the neoliberal, transnational (corporations) … but will never be a threat to U.S. security,” he said. The People's Summit   Morales is the only world leader to deliver a speech to this year's People's Summit, though Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has also stated he will attend the meeting. The summit brought together close to 2,000 representatives from social movements across the Americas to discuss issues ranging from U.S. sanctions on Venezuela to Puerto Rican independence. Organizers say the summit is a grassroots alternative to the Summit of the Americas, which is also taking place in Panama this week. In a statement, organizers said the summit is a forum for “the voice of our peoples, to highlight problems the other meeting (the Summit of the Americas) doesn't address.” On Thursday, the People's Summit led a rally through the streets of Panama City to condemn U.S. imperialism and express solidarity with Venezuela. http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Fight-Imperialism-with-Unity-Says-Morales-20150410-0011.html COMMENT US efforts to subvert governments in Latin American countries is nothing new, so it's probably safe to take Bolivia President Evo Morales at his word.  :) Nothing else to add.  Brain's fried.  Think it's sleep deprivation.  If I'm woken, I cannot go back to sleep ... and then I can't switch off to sleep at the other end of the day.  Switch is temporarily out of order.  :)

GAZA - BOLIVIA MAKES A STAND - DECLARES ISRAEL: TERRORIST STATE

Declaring Israel a 'terrorist state,' Bolivia's president ends free entry for Israeli visitors Published July 30, 2014 Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bolivia's leftist president has declared Israel a "terrorist state" because of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, and his government will now require Israeli citizens to obtain a visa to visit the Andean nation. President Evo Morales already broke off diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 2009, calling Israel's treatment of Palestinians "a genocide." The action announced Wednesday will especially hit young Israelis, who often travel for extended periods, with South America a popular destination. Other South American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, have recalled their ambassadors from Israel in protest over the fighting in Gaza. Source - Fox News - here.

As it states, President Evo Morales has strongly spoken out -- and spoken out before.

Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel.

That's a pretty strong message from Morales.


--------------------------------------
GET A LOAD OF THIS!


President Evo Morales

Widely regarded as the country's first democratically-elected president to come from the indigenous population, his administration has focused on the implementation of leftist policies, poverty reduction, and combating the influence of the United States and transnational corporations in Bolivia. A democratic socialist, he is the head of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) political party.

July 2013 flight diversion
Main article: Evo Morales grounding incident

On 2 July 2013, Bolivia's foreign minister said that the diversion of Morales's presidential plane ... when Portuguese, French, Spanish and Italian authorities denied access to their airspace due to suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board the aircraft, had put the president's life at risk. France apologized for the incident the next day.  The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela, Morales's political allies in the region, gathered to demand an explanation of the incident.

Aftermath

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asserted that "a head of state and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability"

France apologized for the incident immediately.   The Spanish ambassador to Bolivia apologized two weeks later, citing inappropriate procedures.  The Italians have made no such apology.

On July 3, Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, acknowledged that the U.S. had been "in contact with a range of countries across the world who had any chance of having Mr. Snowden land or even transit through their countries". 

On September 20, Evo Morales announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government for "crimes against humanity" for repeatedly blocking presidential flights, after an incident in which authorization for an overflight of Puerto Rico by President Maduro of Venezuela was delayed, although U.S. authorities said that they were entitled to three days' advance notice. Maduro had been en route to arrive in Beijing for bilaterial talks with the People's Republic of China.

In the aftermath of the incident, eight Latin American countries – Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela – voiced their concerns to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who asserted that "a Head of State and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability".   Ban also emphasized that it is important to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

[wikipedia]

VIVA BOLIVIA!