Bolivian Intrigues

https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/evo-morales-to-the-grayzone-the-people?

I was not surprised to learn that a plot was in the works to kidnap Evo Morales right around the same time the US launched the Maduro raid in Venezuela.

Ousted in 2019, Morales was replaced by the Right-wing Jeanine Añez, who (due to gross abuses of power) was in turn was imprisoned by the Left-leaning government of Luis Arce. Upon the completion of his term (2020-2025) and after surviving a military coup attempt, Arce declined to run again. In 2025, the pro-American Rodrigo Paz took power and has worked closely with the Trump administration. It's also noteworthy that Paz has deep ties to the former dictator Hugo Banzer who brutalised Bolivia during the Cold War era and was part of the American-run Operation Condor.

Despite his ousting and the many charges against him, Morales has remained popular and has been waiting in the wings as it were. He attempted to return under Arce (a former minister in his government) but they quickly fell out. There was an assassination attempt against him in 2024, and yet his detractors insist it was fake - just as Morales insists the failed 2024 coup attempt against Arce was fake.

Morales has also been accused of statutory rape, but as with the charges against Julian Assange more than a decade ago, there are some serious doubts about their credibility and not a few believe them to be politically motivated. There's little doubt of Morales' promiscuity and lack of morality when it comes to questions of chastity and fornication but whether he's guilty of the charges, that's another matter.

Under Paz, the government of Bolivia is operating as an arm of US policy but the political and social instability has continued to simmer. This, along with more aggressive and sweeping nature of Trump's policy in Latin America are the context for the interview.

Whether one likes Morales or not, his comments about everything from the IMF to Lithium production, to Paz's neo-liberal and pro-corporate policies are pretty interesting.

It's clear enough that Paz is getting nervous about violence breaking out in the form of labour strikes and street protests. For Morales and others that would remove Paz and turn back the tide of his pro-Wall Street and Washington trajectory - things are coming to a head.

Morales has been accused of collusion with narcotraffickers - a charge many find absurd, but one the United States might use in order to justify a kidnapping operation, as we saw with Maduro. But in this interview Morales comes out swinging and cites specific and rather suspicious incidents that demonstrate that in fact it is the Paz government that is in collusion with these forces. I would add that it's hard not to think of past CIA activity and the Condor years when it comes to these questions. It's a strange charge (in terms of the specifics he cites) but a little research reveals that yes, there are some high-potency marijuana products moving from the USA into Latin America. It's completely counter-intuitive but it's happening as recent stories related to both Paraguay and Guyana revealed. In both cases Miami-based planes were smuggling high-end THC into South America.

Bolivia it would seem has become something of a shipping hub for such products entering the South American market.

He also offers some thought-provoking commentary as to why the US is trying to re-trench in Latin America as well as the ongoing reality that is Operation Condor. There's little doubt that the programme (masked by different nomenclature) was given a shot in the arm by the ascension of Marco Rubio to the US State Department. It's one instance in which the Kissinger-Rubio comparisons actually do pan out.

Again, one need not argue that Morales is someone admirable or even particularly moral. Áñez clearly despised him and the indigenous population of her country, as well as attempts to legitimize their standing and culture in Bolivian society. Traditionalist Catholics have been outraged by the rise of Morales. This was also connected to the Pachamama incident in 2019 wherein US Traditionalist Catholic and media personality Taylor Marshall helped fund a stunt wherein activists stole the statues which had been placed in a Catholic church in Rome and dumped them in the Tiber. Marshall had funded the operation and promoted it to the fury of Pope Francis whose papacy was marked by attempts at rapprochement with indigenous peoples. Some believe it was the final straw that pushed Francis to take an active position against the Latin Mass.

The interview offers nothing conclusive but it's a window into what's happening right now in Bolivia. Indeed, it seems the whole of Latin America is in turmoil right now and there's an intense proxy battle between Right and Left and the economic allies of both the US and China. The struggle involves drugs and drug traffickers, as well as large corporations who seek to exploit resources. And as always the poor are caught in the middle and suffer the most.

It's also noteworthy that the churches are also very much a part of this and sadly it would seem that rather than take a Biblical stand of antithesis and pilgrim detachment, most are fully embracing the Right-wing political movements, not a few of which are flirting with forms of fascism. As a result these churches are being infected by heresy and anti-Christian ethics on everything from mammon to questions of power and violence.