Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 22
Bolivia Security Forces Prepare Chapare Push After 50 Days of Morales-Backed Blockades
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 22

Bolivia Security Forces Prepare Chapare Push After 50 Days of Morales-Backed Blockades

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 22

Summary

  • Bolivia's security forces are preparing to enter Chapare, the central coca-growing region where former President Evo Morales has remained since October 2024 while evading arrest.
  • More than 50 days of road blockades encouraged by Morales have disrupted the economy, making the planned push the government's clearest move yet against his stronghold.
  • Thousands of Morales supporters have protected him in Chapare, where police and military operations have repeatedly faced resistance from coca growers' organizations he leads.
  • Chapare's role as a coca-producing area long linked to cocaine-processing laboratories raises the stakes for any operation and underscores the region's political and security sensitivity.

Insights

Is Bolivia's ex-president a political fugitive or a narco-terrorist orchestrating a coup from his jungle hideout?
With a state of emergency and foreign powers involved, is Bolivia on the brink of civil war?
As Bolivia's economy collapses, are the protests a popular uprising or a manufactured crisis by a political rival?