Bolivia's government is accusing U.S. officials of meddling in the South American nation's internal affairs and fueling indigenous protests of a proposed highway project. The Bolivian government approved a 190-mile highway that will cut through the heart of the Isiboro-Secure Indigenous Territory and a wildlife preserve, so a number of indigienous groups are in opposition to the construction. President Evo Morales claims to support both indigenous rights and the protection of "Mother Earth", but argues that the road is essential for the national integration and modernization of Bolivia.
An influential Bolivian official called Wednesday for the expulsion of the U.S. Agency of International Development, accusing the agency of promoting actions aimed at "destabilizing" the government.
"The expulsion of USAID should be ... an act of sovereignty," said Juan Ramon Quintana, director of a Bolivian government development agency and a former top presidential aide.
His remarks came as hundreds of indigenous protesters trekked toward La Paz, protesting the proposed construction of a highway through a national park where indigenous communities live. Quintana showed documents that he said proved that officials from the agency were behind the movement.
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