The United States is financing opposition groups to destabilise Evo Morales' government, according to Vice President of the Republic of Bolivia, Alvaro Garcia Linera. He states that this concerns funds brought to the country to be used as aid, which in reality are obscuring the “political understanding” in place. This accusation leads on from the departure of the US Ambassador in La Paz, Philip Goldberg, who not only holds the failure of the fight against drugs in Bolivia and the increase in coco plantations responsible, but who also ‘blows off’ the 140 million dollars of 'aid' that the Andean country should continue to receive from Washington. These statements have unleashed anger in both the Bolivian Ambassador in America, Gustavo Guzmán and President Evo Morales.

The Vice president. "If only the 140 million dollars of US aid to our country was productive", boomed Linera when explaining how some funds are instead financing opposition groups “who create criticism and ideological and political resistance” to Evo Morales' democratically-elected government. Specifically the United States could be organising influential centres for former Ministers and ideological conservatives. "At the very least all this sounds suspicious and begs us to reflect on what kind of 'aid' they are offering", stressed Linera. "They are developing intellectual conservative centres with money which arrives to be used in our country". And for those who accuse Morales’ Bolivia of anti-Americanism, the Vice President clarified that the Bolivian government would act the same way towards any country who dared to behave like this, paying for alleged ‘democracy defence centres’ which are none other than ‘places to recruit former officials’ from past governments, nostalgic for the power they had. “We would accept American money with our eyes closed if it were actually aid which benefited us”, he concluded, “but given that it is ‘political aid’, it would be better if it did not exist at all, as it interferes with the internal affairs of our sovereign state”.

Blows and retorts. “Our work in Washington has served to clarify that in Bolivia, submission and subjection, characteristic throughout other diplomatic moments in the country, have today been uprooted”. Even the Bolivian Ambassador in America, Gustavo Guzmán, did not mince his words when returning from a meeting of the internal diplomatic corps in La Paz on Monday. A journalist and US Diplomat since August 2006, he believes that relations between Bolivia and the White House continue to improve and broaden, and the political communication remains transparent, even though it is still tainted by “natural differences”. Statements were then laid on by President of the Republic, Evo Morales, who has announced ‘radical moves’ against determined foreign ambassadors who encroach upon internal politics and create hostility. Without quoting the United States explicitly, Morales has explained that he does not understand “how some ambassadors dedicate themselves to politics rather than diplomacy”. He then clarified: “I don’t know if I can put up with them for much longer …we will take radical moves against those ambassadors who are openly provoking us – we are not scared. He then referred to an internal and external conspiracy which is plans to bring him down, “this is not what we call cooperation, but rather conspiracy”, he stated, thereby unleashing Washington’s reaction who assured that their intervention in the Andean country was apolitical and transparent.