Bolivia, Colombia expel each other’s ambassadors
Bolivia and Colombia expelled each other’s ambassadors Wednesday in a spat over antigovernment demonstrations choking La Paz and other cities. Bolivia said it was expelling Colombia’s envoy over “interference” by its left-wing President Gustavo Petro, who called the rallies a “popular insurrection.”
Later Wednesday, Colombia’s foreign ministry said Bolivia’s ambassador will depart Bogota. Petro, known for his broadsides against right-wing governments, labeled the protests an insurrection against “geopolitical arrogance” at the weekend and offered to mediate the crisis.
Bolivia’s foreign ministry said the expulsion of Ambassador Elizabeth Garcia arose from a “need to preserve the principles of sovereignty, noninterference and mutual respect between states.”
It did not say when Garcia would leave the Andean country.
