The leftist, Iran-allied government of Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel on Tuesday in response to Israel’s “disproportionate” operation against the jihadist terrorist group Hamas.
The fellow leftist governments of Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to Tel Aviv, arguing similar reasons to those of Bolivia.
Hamas welcomed the “honorable positions” taken by the three Latin American leftist governments against Israel, describing it as “the occupying power.”
The Bolivian government’s announcement was made by acting Foreign Minister María Nela Prada, who explained that the cutting of diplomatic ties was in “repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which threatens international peace and security.”
“We demand the cessation of the attacks in the Gaza Strip that have caused, so far, thousands of civilian fatalities and the forced displacement of Palestinians;” Prada said, “as well as the cessation of the blockade that prevents the entry of food, water and other essential elements for life, violating International Law and International Humanitarian Law in the treatment of the civilian population in armed conflicts.”
The acting foreign minister, on behalf of socialist President Luis Arce, demanded “the cessation of attacks against the Palestinian people” and rejected the “hostile treatment of Israel towards the heads of international organizations responsible for providing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.”
Bolivia did not condemn Hamas for its unprecedented October 7 terrorist attack against Israel targeting infants, children, the elderly, the disabled, and civilians generally.
Prada also made calls for “brother countries” aligned with Bolivia to “produce a collective action” and achieve pacification in the region to “avoid a “genocide.” The acting foreign minister continued by announcing that the Bolivian government is taking steps so that the Embassy of Bolivia in the Netherlands assumes the nation’s concurrence before the State of Palestine.
Bolivia, during the rule of strongman Evo Morales (2006-2019), formally established diplomatic ties with Iran in 2007. Under Morales, the South American nation initially broke ties with Israel in January 2009, also using the excuse of Israel defending itself against Hamas at the time. Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez did similarly at the time.
Former Bolivian President Jeanine Áñez (2019-2020) restored the nation’s ties with Israel in 2020. Áñez took office after Morales voluntarily resigned and fled to Mexico along with everyone else in the presidential line of succession before Áñez in November 2019 amidst glaring evidence of electoral fraud committed by the government that sought to give Morales a controversial and unconstitutional third presidential term. Morales argued that Bolivia’s two-term presidential limits violated his human rights. Áñez is currently serving a ten-year sentence for allegedly staging a “coup” against Morales.
Bolivia has deepened its ties to Iran under socialist President Arce. In July, both countries signed a deal for the purchase of Iranian drones, a move that raised concerns from Argentina and the Argentine Jewish community, who were the targets of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA), a deadly terrorist attack in which Iranian officials have been implicated for decades. The bombing, which killed 85 people, was the deadliest terrorist attack in the Western Hemisphere prior to September 11, 2001.
During the signing of the agreement, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani stated that relationships between Iran and “like-minded” Latin American countries are an “example of independent countries.” Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo asserted Iran “is a model for Bolivia to achieve the freedom of nations.”
Bolivia’s breaking of diplomatic ties with Israel occurred hours after Morales questioned Arce’s stance publicly, arguing that if Arce’s government “is not subordinate to the Empire [the United States] and is truly in solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinian people, why do they maintain diplomatic relations with Israel? Why do they not declare it a terrorist state? Why do they not present the complaint before the International Criminal Court?”
Lamentamos que el presidente de Bolivia, Luis Arce, no actúe en concordancia con el sentimiento del pueblo boliviano con referencia a las agresiones israelíes contra el pueblo palestino.
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) October 31, 2023
En su último tuit, ni siquiera menciona a Israel que es el Estado que comete estos… pic.twitter.com/4YNJON8HKL
Although Arce “succeeded” Morales following his resignation, the relationship between the socialists has become severely strained throughout the past year, culminating with Morales successfully having the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party oust Arce from its ranks, declaring Morales as its 2025 presidential candidate.
Lior Haiat, spokesman of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asserted on Wednesday that Bolivia’s decision to cut ties with Israel is “a surrender to terrorism and to the Ayatollah’s regime in Iran.”
“By taking this step, the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organization, which slaughtered over 1,400 Israelis and abducted 240 people, including children, women, babies and the elderly,” Haiat said. “Israel condemns Bolivia’s support of terrorism and its submission to the Iranian regime, which attest to the values the government of Bolivia represents.”
While not announcing a breaking of ties with Israel, the leftist governments of Colombia and Chile, following Bolivia’s footsteps, recalled their respective ambassadors to Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
In Colombia, far-left President Gustavo Petro announced on Tuesday evening that he had recalled the Colombian ambassador to Israel Margarita Manjarrez, adding, “if Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people we [Colombia] cannot be there.”
The announcement marks the latest chapter in Petro’s single-handed destroying of Colombia’s traditionally friendly relations with Israel.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president ever, responded to Hamas’s October 7 attack with repeated attacks against Israel. Petro has yet to condemn the Hamas slaughter itself. Most egregiously, Petro compared Israel to Nazi Germany, accusing Israel of turning Gaza into an Auschwitz-style concentration camp.
Petro’s statements, which sparked international outrage, prompted the Israeli government to suspend its security exports to Colombia. Petro responded by threatening to to cut ties with Israel altogether.
After recalling Ambassador Manjarrez, Petro doubled down on his criticism and condemnation of Israel. Petro described the situation in Gaza as “Herod empowered by a power that is extinguished in barbarism,” referencing the Roman-appointed king of Judea who ruled between 37BC-4BC.
Petro’s predecessor, former President Iván Duque, condemned Petro’s “clown behavior” on Wednesday evening, asserting that Petro’s actions are the “prelude to the antisemitic path of breaking relations with the country attacked by the beasts of Hamas.”
Former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana also criticized Petro’s actions, arguing that Petro’s “pseudo-diplomacy” seeks to distract from Petro’s crushing electoral defeat in Colombia’s Sunday regional elections.
In Chile, far-left President Gabriel Boric also recalled the nation’s Ambassador to Israel José Carvajal on Tuesday, alleging “unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.”
“Chile strongly condemns and notes with great concern that these military operations – which at this stage of their development involve collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza – do not respect fundamental norms of international law, as evidenced by the more than eight thousand civilian victims, mostly women and children,” the Chilean government’s statement read.
“Chile reiterates its call for an immediate end to the hostilities, which will allow the deployment of a humanitarian support operation to help the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons and civilian victims,” the statement concluded.
Last month, during his official visit to China, Boric stated that the “unacceptable and brutal attacks perpetrated by Hamas do not justify, under any circumstances, the barbarity that the State of Israel is carrying out in Gaza.”
Bolivia, Colombia, and Chile’s announcements were reportedly celebrated by Hamas on Wednesday.
“We highly commend the courageous stance taken by the Bolivian government to sever relations with the Zionist entity, which came in response to the fascist Israeli aggression and the atrocious massacres committed every minute against our people in the already blockaded Gaza Strip,” a Hamas statement reportedly read.
“We renew our call on Arab and Islamic countries, which have normalized their ties with so-called Israel, to follow in Bolivia’s footsteps and sever all relations with this vicious entity,” the statement continued.
In the case of Colombia and Chile, the terrorist organization appreciated the announcement to recall their ambassadors from the “Zionist entity, in protest against the aggressions and massacres committed by the Nazi-Zionist occupation in the Gaza Strip 25 days ago.”
“These honorable positions will be immortalized in the record of those countries that reject aggression and triumph for the justice of our cause and for the rights of our people to freedom and self-determination,” Hamas asserted.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
