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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 26th 2026 - 09:21 UTC

Tag: Bolivia

  • 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.

  • Saturday, January 3rd 2026 - 08:44 UTC

    Bolivian President to rule electronically from abroad

    Paz is reportedly seeking to bypass the constitutional succession protocol while overseas

    Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira issued Supreme Decree 5515, allowing him to exercise full constitutional powers through digital means and electronic signatures while outside the country. The move comes amid escalating nationwide protests over the so-called Gasolinazo (end of fuel subsidies resulting in price hikes) and a notorious rift between the head of State and Vice President Edmand Lara.

  • Wednesday, December 31st 2025 - 10:38 UTC

    Bolivia lifts all fuel import restrictions

    Bolivian subsidies ended up in a growing fuel smuggling business to Peru, it was explained

    Bolivia's Hydrocarbons Ministry has announced a sweeping liberalization of the national fuel market, lifting long-standing import restrictions and implementing a zero Specific Consumption Tax (ICE) for private importers.

  • Saturday, December 20th 2025 - 10:26 UTC

    Bolivia faces indefinite strike to protest end of fuel subsidies

    “The decree will not be changed because it is a starting point,” Paz asserted

    Bolivia's powerful labor and transport unions confirmed they would launch an indefinite national strike starting Monday after President Rodrigo Paz Pereira vowed that Supreme Decree 5503, eliminating decades-old fuel subsidies, was a “non-negotiable” starting point for his administration.

  • Friday, December 19th 2025 - 21:34 UTC

    Superflu makes it to Argentina and Brazil

    The primary concern for health officials remains low vaccination uptake

    Health authorities across South America are on high alert following the confirmed detection of the Influenza A (H3N2) “K subclade” in Argentina and Brazil. The variant, which has already triggered emergency protocols in Chile and Bolivia, is characterized by genetic mutations that may increase transmissibility, though experts emphasize it does not currently appear to be more lethal than standard flu strains.

  • Thursday, December 18th 2025 - 08:11 UTC

    Bolivian President ends fuel subsidies, raises minimum wage

    Paz has blamed the previous administrations of Evo Morales and Luis Arce Catacora for “20 years of looting and waste”

    Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira has announced a drastic economic overhaul, declaring a state of “economic, financial, energetic, and social emergency,” which includes ending fuel subsidies that have been in place for over 20 years and implementing a significant increase in the minimum wage to offset the resulting inflation.

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