Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa, the Venezuelan ambassador to Russia, told Sputnik on Tuesday that the unrest that erupted in Bolivia after the country's presidential election was an ideal moment for the United States to successfully overthrow then-President Evo Morales
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2019) Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa, the Venezuelan ambassador to Russia, told Sputnik on Tuesday that the unrest that erupted in Bolivia after the country's presidential election was an ideal moment for the United States to successfully overthrow then-President Evo Morales."An election took place in Bolivia where we know that President Evo [Morales] has won [the election] and won with a significant margin. But the thing is that the Americans always and for everything have their own strategy to hamper the further development of ... left-wing governments ... As for Bolivia, it was an ideal moment for Americans to pull the power out of the hands of Evo Morales. And they did it," the ambassador said.
The turmoil in Bolivia erupted in the aftermath of the October 20 election, which saw Morales win his fourth term in office. The opposition claimed there were irregularities in the vote-counting process and began protesting. Morales was forced to resign under the pressure from the military, which sided with the protesters, and fled Bolivia. The demonstrations continued, however, as opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez took over as interim president. The country is currently set to hold a fresh presidential election in March.
The diplomat suggested that the United States was also behind what he called a coup to overthrow former President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil. Rousseff was president for more than five years before she was impeached and removed from office on charges of manipulating the country's budget in 2016.
"In Nicaragua this year, they tried to organize a coup d'etat, or a military coup, against [President Daniel] Ortega. They wanted to use the same strategy they used against Venezuela and they failed, too," the diplomat said.
Nicaragua has been a scene of protests against social security reforms, initiated by Ortega, since 2018.
Apart from Venezuela, other countries have also voiced concerns that the United States has been initiating unrest across Latin America to overthrow governments that were not allied to it. Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate has said that Washington intended to seize complete control over Latin America, adding that the US spent $1.5 billion a year to increase its influence in the region.
