International

Legislators related to Evo Morales prevent the Arce report in Parliament, which qualifies it as an “act of vandalism”

The pro-government parliamentarians of the wing related to the former Bolivianpresident EvoMorales (2006-2019) violently prevented this Friday the installation of the legislative session in which the country’s president, Luis Arce, was to present a management report. Arce launched harsh criticism of former president Morales for the “vandal act” carried out by parliamentarians.

The Bolivian vice president, David Choquehuanca, who also presides over the Legislative Assembly, was preparing to begin the parliamentary session when a group of deputies and senators of the governmental Movement to Socialism (MAS) related to Morales violently approached the main stand.

The parliamentarians of the so-called ‘evista’ wing or close to the former governor destroyed a floral arrangement placed in front of the platform and threw tomatoes and water at Choquehuanca, while the vice president’s security team tried to cover him with a jacket.

Choquehuanca finally left the place and the session did not come to be installed, so now some official information is expected about the place from where Arce will give his management report.

An “act of vandalism”

The president regretted that there had to be “another vandalistic act starring the Evista bench,” that is, of parliamentarians related to Morales, “in the Legislative Assembly.”

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“The ‘evismo’ again demonstrates with its actions that it has no will to dialogue or to depose its violent attitudes that are causing so much damage to our country,” said Arce, who has been distanced from Morales since the end of 2021.

The ruler said he felt “other people’s shame” for what happened which, he added, “will be registered as one of the most shameful chapters in the history” of the Bolivian Legislature.

He also expressed his condemnation of the “aggressions” suffered by Choquehuanca and the “arcist” parliamentarians or related to his government and offered an apology “to the Bolivian people and the international community” for these events.

“What we have seen today is not what we Bolivians are, nor does it represent popular feeling. What the world has witnessed today is a group of followers of Evo Morales, who continues to damage our country by imposing an unconstitutional candidacy and by seeking impunity in their judicial processes,” he said.

Arce accuses ‘evismo’ of seeking “impunity” in cases against Morales

Luis Arce accused the relatives of former president Evo Morales of causing “damage” to the country to “impose an unconstitutional candidacy and for seeking impunity in their judicial proceedings,” in reference to the investigations into human trafficking and rape that weigh against the former president.

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The dispute between Arce and Morales

The day before, the Deputy Minister of Communication, Gabriela Alcón, guaranteed that Arce will present her report, as the Constitution indicates, and will also give a message to the population “at a complicated time” after the 24 days of roadblocks completed by Evo Morales’ followers in the face of a criminal process against him.

Arce will give his report from Plaza Murillo on a newly assembled platform for the suspension of the legislative session.

Arce and Morales have been distanced since the end of 2021 due to differences in the state administration, the need to renew the national leadership of the MAS, still in the hands of the former president, and the definition of the official candidacy for the 2025 general elections.

The ruling party fight deepened after a criminal investigation against Morales was known in a case of human trafficking and rape that the former governor considers to be a “political persecution” to leave him out of the electoral contest and for which his followers blocked roads for 24 days.

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The last year of Arce

Arce begins on this day his fifth and last year of management in the midst of this struggle in his party and also of an economic crisis reflected in the lack of dollars and fuel and the increase in the price of some basic products.

On the social network X, Morales reiterated his criticisms against Arce and maintained that at the end of his fourth year of administration, he “trayed the Bolivian people.”

“He had the commitment to raise the economy and sank it, the commitment to respect institutionality and destroyed it, the commitment to be transparent and was corrupted. In addition, he divided and pre-pre-ended the leadership leaders of social movements,” he questioned.

He also considered that the “only objective” of the Arce Government is to “proscribe the MAS and disqualify Evo” as a candidate for 2025.

“They will go down in history as the worst of governments,” the former governor added.

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International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.