planet earth looks blue

 An assassination attempt on the Bolivian President Evo Morales has been thwarted, leaving three dead, and two in custody.  The assassins were foreigners, possibly Hungarian or Irish, and some reports say Bolivian.  The plot was against Morales, the leftist President of the past three years, and Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, as well as the Vice President, and one cabinet member.  There was a shoot out in Santa Cruz where the assassins were staying, according to the BBC.  Santa Cruz is the central location of the opposition.  Morales, who was informed by intelligence of the plot days ago, ordered the attack.  The question is - why would foreigners try to assassinate Morales?  What interests do they have in the Andean nation?  They are reported to be a group of international mercenaries - paid by whom? 

The Bolivian opposition, the wealthy conservative class that rules the Senate, or any other interests that don’t like a man of the people, and a supporter of Chavez ruling a South American country.  Were the assassins paid by a political groups, or a conglomerate of corporate interests?  The two survivors will obviously be interrogated for information, although they themselves may not know who they were working for.  Police found heavy weaponry, including C-4 explosives, which are not found in Bolivia, according to a statement by Vice President Alvaro Garcia (Associated Press), as well as plans to go after the presidential motorcade.  

The attempt comes two days after Morales ended his five day hunger strike.  He was acting in protest of the blockage of constitutional changes which the majority of the population had voted for earlier this year.  The changes would allow Morales to run again in December elections, and will reserve seven seats in the lower house of parliament for minority indigenous groups.  Morales has so far done his best to work for his people, giving them a voice that they never had in their own country.  Bolivia has been ruled by the mixed-race, wealthier classes who reside primarily in the south.    

On a side not, to follow up on one of my recent posts - prosecutors in Spain have recommended to the court to drop the case against former Bush officials for their role in alleged Human Rights abuses at Guantanamo Bay, saying that if they are to be brought to trial, the United States should be the first ones to take them to court.  It is still possible that the court itself will choose to go ahead with the case.