BOLIVIA: TOP COMMANDERS REMOVED FOR SENDING MISSILES TO THE U.S. FOR DECOMMISSIONING.
Bolivian military officials involved in the decision to send Chinese-made shoulder-fired missiles to the US for decommissioning have come under fire from the incoming administration of President Evo Morales. One of Morales' first acts as president was to remove 50 top commanders because of the delivery of the missiles, an issue that he emphasized during his election campaign and that led to the removal of top commanders before his inauguration.
Campaign controversy regarding missiles sent to the US
In the final weeks of his campaign, Morales harshly attacked the administration of President Eduardo Rodriguez (2005-2006) for sending a batch of Chinese-made missiles to the US to be destroyed. Rodriguez said that the Bolivian military had neither the means to maintain the missiles nor the ability to decommission them, so he had them sent to the US.
Nevertheless, outgoing President Rodriguez fired Bolivia's Army chief on Jan. 17 for his decision to have the 28 shoulder-launched HN-5 missiles destroyed in the US. Gen. Marcelo Antezana later appeared on Bolivian television to say Rodriguez had made a "bad interpretation" of his role in the October destruction of the missiles, which led to accusations of treason by Morales, then a presidential candidate.
Antezana defended the move at the time, saying it was in compliance with a June 2005 resolution by the OAS aimed at keeping MANPADS--man-portable air defense systems--out of the hands of terrorists. Antezana said that he disagreed with the president's decision to fire him and that the Public Ministry should investigate the role of civilian officials, including former defense minister Gonzalo Mendez and others, in the matter. Antezana later said that the total number of missiles delivered was not 28 but 41.
Morales, who won the presidential election in December (see NotiSur, 2006-01-06), publicly revealed the destruction of the missiles by the US and said it had left Bolivia with almost no air defense. Rodriguez said he made the decision to destroy the missiles on the recommendation of the UN and the Organization of American States (OAS) after receiving information from the Army that they were obsolete and a safety hazard.
Morales' Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) filed a suit against Rodriguez in October, with some members claiming the missiles were in working condition. Party members have distanced themselves from the suit in recent weeks.
The US has been campaigning to rid Latin America of portable...
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