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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 3rd 2026 - 02:24 UTC

Tag: Bolivia

  • Friday, May 1st 2026 - 14:54 UTC

    Bolivia's agro-environmental court judge shot dead amid wave of drug-related violence

    Claure, a 49-year-old lawyer born in Cochabamba, was intercepted near midnight while driving along Busch Avenue

    Víctor Hugo Claure, dean of Bolivia's Agro-Environmental Court, was shot dead late Thursday in the eastern city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in what authorities describe as an attack carried out by hitmen and which falls within a sequence of violent events linked to the growing influence of drug trafficking in the country's main city. The killing has prompted unanimous condemnation from the judicial system and from opposition politicians, and poses a direct challenge to the administration of President Rodrigo Paz, in office since November.

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  • Friday, April 24th 2026 - 19:49 UTC

    Kast–Paz rapprochement opens door to potential restoration of Bolivia–Chile relations

    The diplomatic shift responds to a direct “mandate” from the presidents of both countries — far-right José Antonio Kast, who took office in Chile on March 11, and center-right Rodrigo Paz

    The foreign ministers of Bolivia, Fernando Aramayo, and Chile, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, agreed on Friday to deepen bilateral ties and advance a joint economic agenda, amid a decisive diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries after nearly five decades without ambassador-level relations. The meeting, held at an event organized by the Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services, and Tourism (Cainco) in Santa Cruz, concluded a two-day official visit by the Chilean minister.

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  • Monday, April 20th 2026 - 04:10 UTC

    Bolivia runoff consolidates fragmentation: ruling party keeps two regions, opposition governs the rest

    Voters in five Bolivian departments went to the polls on Sunday to complete the regional elections that began on March 22, in a runoff that consolidated a fragmented political map: President Rodrigo Paz's Patria coalition retained just two of nine governorships, while seven went to different opposition forces.

  • Saturday, April 4th 2026 - 03:03 UTC

    British ambassador calls Bolivia's Falklands/Malvinas support for Argentina “unacceptable”

    Porter recorded a video outside Bolivia's Foreign Ministry building in which he declared that “the Falkland Islands are British, their sovereignty is not in question” and cited the 2013 referendum

    Argentina on Friday thanked Bolivia for its support on the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty claim and called “unfortunate” the remarks by the British ambassador in La Paz, Richard Porter, who branded the Bolivian position “deeply disappointing and unacceptable.”

  • Wednesday, April 1st 2026 - 10:37 UTC

    Bolivia: probe into ring that stole and adulterated fuel imported through Chilean ports

    YPFB tanker trucks with a capacity of up to 33,000 liters allegedly were illegally offloading between 700 and 1,000 liters at the Chilean ports of Arica and Iquique

    Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Tuesday denounced the existence of an international ring dedicated to stealing and adulterating gasoline and diesel imported into the country, with operations detected in Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay. According to the president, the scheme originated under the previous management of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), the state-owned fuel supply company.

  • Friday, March 13th 2026 - 16:03 UTC

    Uruguayan fugitive Sebastián Marset captured in Bolivia and placed in U.S. custody

    Marset was also listed among the DEA’s most wanted fugitives and was regarded as one of the agency’s five highest-priority drug trafficking targets

    Suspected Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset was captured on Friday in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in an operation that ends one of the Southern Cone’s longest and most visible manhunts. Paraguayan authorities confirmed the arrest and said Marset had been secured after a raid carried out by Bolivian forces.

  • Wednesday, March 4th 2026 - 17:43 UTC

    Bolivia jails 19 after people scooped up cash from crashed military plane

    The aircraft was carrying a total of 50 million bolivianos (approximately US$7.1 million), and authorities estimated that around 30% of the cargo was stolen at the scene.

    A Bolivian judge ordered the pre-trial detention of 19 people accused of taking banknotes scattered after a military Hercules C-130 aircraft skidded off the runway while landing at El Alto international airport, adjacent to La Paz. The suspects will spend four months in prisons in the La Paz department as investigators build the case, according to El Deber.

  • Saturday, February 28th 2026 - 01:13 UTC

    Bolivia military plane carrying central bank cash crashes; crowd tries to grab banknotes

    Witness accounts described the plane hitting numerous vehicles before coming to a stop.

    A Bolivian military Hercules C-130 transport aircraft suffered an accident on Friday afternoon in El Alto, the city adjacent to La Paz, leaving at least 15 people dead, according to a preliminary toll attributed to firefighters. The aircraft overran the runway and slid onto a main avenue, striking vehicles and triggering chaotic scenes as residents attempted to collect bundles of cash scattered across the crash area.

  • Friday, January 23rd 2026 - 22:55 UTC

    Bolivia’s vice president points to Urubó as possible hideout for fugitive Uruguayan trafficker Marset

    Marset, 34, has been on the run since July 2023, when he escaped a police operation in Santa Cruz

    Bolivia’s Vice President Edmundo Lara said fugitive Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset may be hiding in Urubó, an affluent residential area on the outskirts of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and urged security forces and Interpol to carry out “urgent” raids to verify the lead. In a video posted on social media, Lara questioned why major operations had not been conducted in the area “for a long time,” suggesting a gap in enforcement that could be shielding the suspect.

  • Wednesday, January 7th 2026 - 10:12 UTC

    Key IDB Chief's visit to Bolivia announced

    Goldfajn's trip comes 15 years after the last visit to the landlocked country by an IDB head

    Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn is visiting Bolivia between Jan. 13 and 14, marking the first time in 15 years that someone in his position has become interested in the landlocked South American country, signaling a shift in international financial relations under the administration of President Rodrigo Paz Pereira.

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