Overview
- Police and soldiers removed debris from a main road into La Paz after a month of blockades that have choked deliveries of food, medicine and oxygen to major cities.
- President Rodrigo Paz has sent a bill to Congress to declare a state of emergency that would authorize expanded military action to clear road blockades and restore supply lines.
- Protests and roughly 100 nationwide blockades have disrupted transport networks, forced residents to walk to rural areas for staples and left supplies running low in La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro and Potosí.
- The United States and the Shield of the Americas publicly backed Paz, accusing criminal and drug-trafficking actors of funding some protests while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Washington is 'watching.'
- The unrest stems from Paz’s early economic moves — notably fuel subsidy cuts and land-reform measures — and has polarized politics with former president Evo Morales calling for early elections as the government accuses his allies of fomenting unrest.