US Backs Bolivian President, Warns of 'Narco-Terrorist' Exploitation

The United States has thrown its weight behind Bolivia’s embattled centre-right president, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, pledging emergency assistance and warning that “narco-terrorists” could exploit the turmoil roiling the Andean nation. In a phone call on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised to intensify medical and food aid, as well as logistical support, to help Bolivians facing acute shortages caused by more than a month of road blockades. A State Department spokesperson described the blockades as “illegal” and “intended to destabilise Bolivian society,” while War Secretary Pete Hegseth took to social media to caution against any attempt to unseat the government, only six months into Paz’s mandate. “The United States is watching,” Hegseth wrote, adding that Bolivia must not slip “back to the old status quo of narco-terrorist dominance in the region.”

The unrest, however, is rooted in a dire economic crisis that has galvanised a broad coalition of farmers, miners, transit workers and teachers, who have blocked highways across the country to demand solutions – and, increasingly, the president’s resignation. Months of fuel shortages, spiralling inflation and a dollar squeeze have eroded living standards, prompting the most sustained challenge to Paz’s authority since he took office. While the government frames the protests as a subversive plot, the demonstrators insist they are a spontaneous expression of popular anger, a narrative that resonates in a region long accustomed to street-level mobilisation as a political force.

Viewed from Washington, the Bolivian crisis is inseparable from the hemispheric fight against drug trafficking. Hegseth invoked the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C), a recently formed multinational military and political alliance, to underscore that Bolivia is a key partner. The explicit linkage of the protests to “narco-terrorist” profiteering – without citing evidence – suggests the US is adopting a security-first lens, analysts in London note, one that echoes past interventions in the region. This framing may help rally domestic support for aid but risks obscuring the economic grievances at the heart of the mobilisation.

The Bolivian government, for its part, has welcomed Washington’s backing, but the roadblocks have paralysed transport and supply chains, leaving many cities cut off from food and fuel. The humanitarian toll is mounting, and international organisations have yet to weigh in comprehensively. Analysts warn that without a credible political strategy to address the protesters’ economic demands, external support alone may not stabilise the country. Paz’s government faces a delicate balancing act: repelling what it calls a coup attempt while acknowledging the deep-seated discontent that has filled the streets. The weeks ahead will test whether the US-brokered relief can buy enough time for a negotiated solution, or whether Bolivia is heading for a deeper political fracture.