SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Mexico warns OAS not to interfere in Bolivia’s internal affairs

Mexico’s foreign ministry has criticised the Organization of American States (OAS) for what it described as interference in the internal affairs of Bolivia, where a former president was recently detained on charges of fomenting a coup.

The rebuke of the Washington-based association of governments across North and South America followed several duelling statements after the Bolivian government last weekend imprisoned former President Jeanine Anez along with two of her former ministers it accused of participating in a coup to overthrow longtime leader Evo Morales in 2019

Anez, who took over as president when Morales resigned following pressure from the military, denies the allegations and says she is the victim of political persecution.

A conservative former senator, Anez began a four-month pre-trial detention on Monday.

The arrest of Anez, who was in power for less than a year after the removal of the left-wing leader, Morales, sparked criticism from the OAS and human rights groups that say judicial channels are being abused for political ends.

In its statement on Wednesday, the OAS called for “credible and impartial trials” and stressed what it described as worsening political interference and corruption in Bolivia’s judicial system.

The statement from Mexico’s Foreign Ministry urged the OAS to refrain from “making unilateral pronouncements in the name of all member-states”.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said his country’s foreign policy is guided by the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Critics argue he has departed from that position when dealing with fellow Latin American socialists like Morales.

Al Jazeera