DISINFO: US may be behind coup attempt in Bolivia to take over lithium resources
SUMMARY
Luis Arce’s government in Bolivia has considered joining BRICS and fostering harmonious relations with Russia and China. This generates a strong covert reaction from the US, which intends to maintain its dominance in Latin America. It is worth recalling that during the recent Saint Petersburg Economic Forum, Arce declared Bolivia to have the world's largest lithium reserves. In March 2023, the head of the US Southern Command complained that other countries were extracting these riches, specifically lithium. There is no coup against democracy in which the US is not involved.
RESPONSE
This is a conspiracy theory not backed by any evidence, aiming to promote anti-US sentiments among Spanish-speaking audiences.
There is no evidence suggesting any US involvement in the 2024 failed coup in Bolivia. Neither lithium fields nor Bolivia’s foreign relations appear to have played any role in it.
The coup attempt was almost certainly the result of the country’s domestic political dynamics. After tensions grew between former President Evo Morales and his political heir and current President Luis Arce, Morales announced his intention to run as a presidential candidate in the next election.
The head of the Bolivian Army, General Juan José Zúñiga, stated publicly that Morales should not be allowed to participate, which led Arce to remove him from his position. The next day, Zúñiga ordered troops to march on Bolivia’s presidential palace, but he acted in isolation as most military units remained in their barracks. The coup was ill-prepared and lacked any domestic or international support, as Bolivia’s prominent opposition figures, as well as foreign leaders, condemned it immediately. The situation was resolved in a matter of a few hours.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the US and the EU are carrying out a destabilisation campaign in Latin America, that the US may label fentanyl a chemical weapon to have an Iraq-style pretext for invading Mexico, that protests in Cuba are not genuine but provoked by the US, that Venezuelan 'refugees' are being trained at a British military base in Guyana to infiltrate their country, or that an alleged US dirty war in Facebook against Venezuela, Bolivia and Mexico is a new Condor Plan.