MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia denies having Iranian and Hezbollah bases

Israel's Ambassador to Costa Rica Mijal Gur Aryeh had made the “unfounded” allegations

Bolivia's Foreign Ministry Tuesday denied allegations by Israel's Ambassador to Costa Rica Mijal Gur Aryeh that the South American country had Iranian and Hezbollah military bases. “There are also other countries in the region that have Iranian and Hezbollah bases, particularly Venezuela and Bolivia,” the diplomat was quoted as saying by EFE.

“Bolivia is a pacifist state that promotes the culture of peace, which is why it has constitutionally assumed the prohibition of installing foreign military bases in its territory,” said La Paz in a statement. The Bolivian Government also dubbed the Ambassador's words “irresponsible, unfounded, and self-serving” while calling on Latin American countries “not to fall into these provocations that seek to affect the relations of brotherhood between states and peoples of the region.”

The South American country also insisted that Israel's Ambassador's declarations ”seek to generate confrontation between Latin American states, governments, and peoples, against the objective outlined in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) of consolidating Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace”.

The administration of President Luis Arce Catacora also ratified its support for the cessation of violence against the Palestinian territories, as well as the recognition of their full statehood. The Bolivian government has shown its support for the Palestinians and considers that crimes against humanity are being committed in the Gaza Strip.

Bolivia broke off relations with Israel in October 2023 and joined the genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).