Overview
- On Thursday Bolivia declared Colombia’s ambassador Elizabeth García Carrillo persona non grata and Colombia responded the same day by ending the functions of Ariel Percy Molina, the chargé d’affaires in Bogotá.
- The expulsions follow a post by President Gustavo Petro calling Bolivia’s unrest a “popular insurrection” and offering mediation, a move Bolivia’s foreign ministry called unacceptable interference.
- Protests and road blockades that began in early May continue to isolate La Paz and other regions, producing shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies and contributing to at least four deaths tied to delayed emergency care.
- President Rodrigo Paz has sought to defuse the crisis by replacing his labor minister with Williams Bascopé and proposing a Council for Economic and Social Dialogue, but unions and transporters have kept large-scale mobilizations.
- Regional actors and aid groups have moved to help — Chile sent 480 boxes of food — while industry groups report more than $600 million in losses and the UN and others call for humanitarian corridors and renewed talks.