Dimitri O’Donnell
TeleSUR
The U.S. has refuted reports that it planned to topple the government of Bolivia.
The controversy started after a report surfaced on WikiLeaks that the U.S. government had plotted an assassination attempt against President Evo Morales in 2008.
Bolivian President Evo Morales
A representative described the WikiLeaks accusations as “absolutely false and absurd.”
In a strongly worded statement the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia said, “The government of the United States was not involved in any conspiracy, attempt to overthrow the government of Bolivia or assassinate President Morales. This kind of unfounded allegations does not contribute to improving bilateral relations,” said a spokesperson.
Despite the denials, the Bolivian government announced it is pressing ahead with a thorough investigation.
A government minister revealed new information from the WikiLeaks report on state television on Tuesday morning.
Carlos Romero reported meetings took place between leaders of the opposition with representatives of the U.S. Embassy between 2007 and 2008. Romero told TV Bolivia the revelations show “categorical” U.S. involvement in the coordination of “conspiracy theories” against the government of Evo Morales.
According to Romero the contents of the now revealed cables were sent from the embassy in La Paz to the State Department in Washington.
This is just another chapter in the long running saga between the two countries.
RELATED: Bolivia to Investigate Alleged U.S. Plot to Kill Morales
Last month another senior Minister Juan Ramon Quintana alleged that a more recent U.S. sting operation was underway in Bolivia in an attempt to discredit President Evo Morales. The allegation alluded to the possibility that Morales was somehow involved in drug trafficking.
“A covert operation is underway to target President Evo Morales, which is not only funded but also coordinated and organized by intelligence agencies and U.S. security,” Quintana said on Sept. 20.
The ‘’agencies’’ Quintana is referring to is the Drug Enforcement Administration which President Morales expelled from Bolivia in 2008 along with the then U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg…
Continue this story at TeleSUR
READ MORE SOUTH AMERICA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire South America Files
