How serious is the political and social unrest in Bolivia and whats at stake?
Obviously it’s very serious. There were confrontations and a number of deaths. I think the region is clearly concerned about what’s going on. There are issues related to general stability in Bolivia. Drug trafficking is another. There are issues related to gas supplies, especially for Brazil and Argentina, which are recipients of Bolivian gas. Bolivia’s problems are a deep concern to Latin America. Recently Hugo Chávez invited the Russians to join war game exercises in the Caribbean. Morales traveled to Libya and Iran and is reported to be considering aid from Russia in lieu of U.S. money. Is a new Cold War brewing in Latin America? I can say that there are clearly concerns about Iran in the hemisphere because of the nature of [the government in] Iran. Bolivia has every right to have relations with whatever country it wishes. That isn’t in question. You and others can better analyze what it means when Iran is searching for alliances in an area that has not been traditionally an area of
