Following the peace agreement signed in Colombia, only three main issues remain pending in the Americas, devolution of Guantanamo to Cuba, the Falklands/Malvinas dispute and a sea outlet for Bolivia, according to Bolivian president Evo Morales who hailed the deal rubricated on Monday in Cartagena before world leaders.
Venezuela on Wednesday withdrew its ambassador from Brazil and froze ties in response to president Dilma Rousseff's removal from office.
Morales claimed that the violent miners protests this week that resulted in the beating and killing of Deputy Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes and the deaths of three demonstrators were the latest unsuccessful attempt by his political enemies to forcibly remove him from office.
Bolivian Deputy Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes has been killed after being kidnapped by striking mineworkers, the government said late on Thursday. Illanes had gone to talk to protesters earlier on Thursday in Panduro, around 160 km from the capital, La Paz, but was intercepted and kidnapped by striking miners.
Issues related to energy, drug trafficking and border controls, science and technology development, plus support for the South Atlantic Islands and adjoining maritime spaces claim, were among the main issues addressed by Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra during her visit to Bolivia where she met president Evo Morales and her peer David Choquehuanca Cespedes.
Tens of thousands of supporters packed Argentina's most famous square, Plaza de Mayo on Wednesday night to say goodbye to President Cristina Fernandez, who lauded her government's achievements while blasting the incoming administration in the same tones she aimed at opponents throughout her eight years in office.
Although president Cristina Fernandez, to the surprise of many, did not mention a word about Argentina's claim over the Falkland Islands, particularly since this was her last address to the UN General Assembly, Minister Hector Timerman said that nobody could doubt the president's commitment to the Malvinas question, and there were plenty of mentions to the issue from allied countries.
The UN's highest court on Thursday agreed to take up a century-old dispute between Chile and Bolivia, saying it could rule in the case as La Paz seeks to regain access to the Pacific. The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), which oversees disputes between countries, said it “has jurisdiction... to entertain the application filed by Bolivia.”
President Evo Morales confirmed the discovery of new natural gas reserves at two adjacent fields in southern Bolivia that are managed by a consortium led by Spanish oil major Repsol. The Margarita and Huacaya fields are located in the Caipipendi block, in which Repsol and Britain's BG Group each has a 37.5% stake and Anglo-Argentine oil company Pan American Energy holds a 25% interest.
The Argentine government should support with 'determination' Bolivia's sea outlet claim to Chile, because if successful it will be so much easier for Argentina to recover the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, said Bolivian president Evo Morales in an interview.