Five dead as helicopter used by Bolivian president crashes

[Judi Lynn]

Five dead as helicopter used by Bolivian president crashes
By DPA
Jul 21, 2008, 16:18 GMT

La Paz - Four Venezuelan pilots and one Bolivian died as a helicopter that was frequently used by Bolivian President Evo Morales crashed, Bolivian Defence Minister Walker San Miguel said Monday.

The helicopter - a Super Puma model belonging to the Venezuelan Air Force - crashed as it was going from Cochabamba a Cobija in the Amazonian province of Pando, about 1,232 kilometres north of La Paz. The accident took place in Colomi, in the province of Cochabamba.

'President Evo Morales travelled yesterday (Sunday) on that machine from the Huanuni to the city of Oruro. Today we had planned that he went from Cobija to the town of Blanca Flor, in the province of Pando, in the same helicopter,' San Miguel explained.

Venezuela gives Bolivia the French-built Super Puma helicopters with a capacity for 20 people, to be used by Morales in his travels around Bolivia.

More:
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1418450.php/Five_dead_as_helicopter_used_by_Bolivian_president_crashes

[Judi Lynn]

1. dead but president said safe (Evo Morales)

dead but president said safe
By Carlos Valdez
ASSOCIATED PRESS

7:15 a.m. July 21, 2008

LA PAZ, Bolivia – A Venezuelan military helicopter often used to transport Bolivian President Evo Morales crashed in central Bolivia, but Morales was not aboard and is safe, Bolivia's defense minister said Monday. Five crew members were reported killed.

Morales had used the Super Puma helicopter on Saturday and was scheduled to fly in it again on Monday, Defense Minister Walker San Miguel told reporters. He said those killed were “people linked to presidential transport.”

The cause of the accident has not yet been determined, San Miguel added.
Morales uses two Super Puma helicopters lent by the government of leftist ally Venezuela for his travel within Bolivia.

The helicopter took off around 3:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) on Sunday from Bolivia's central city of Cochabamba, where it had stopped to refuel. It was headed for the northern Amazon city of Cobija when Cochabamba air officials declared an emergency, noting the chopper was down.

It was not located until dawn on Monday, when a farmer reported the crash in the village of Colomi, a mountainous area about 155 miles (250 kilometers) east of La Paz, San Miguel said.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080721-0715-bolivia-helicoptercrash.html

[Bacchus39]

2. open speculation alert

I wonder if it was sabotaged by Chavez so he can blame the US, but his plan didn't work since Morales wasn't on board. Once Obama is elected Chavez will need another Bogeyman. Or need to create one.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Oh, right. Thanks for your contribution. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

4. To remind you of chicanery with Bolivian military equipment by Bush's administration,

please check the following story, if you're not familiar with it:

23 December 2005
Evo Morales faces his first problem: what happened to Bolivia's air defence missiles?
President-Elect Evo Morales of Bolivia met the outgoing President Eduardo Rodriguez to discuss the handover of power yesterday. However, the new President faces a problem with the USA even before taking office. Put simply, what happened to Bolivia's air-defence missiles?

The country had 28 or 30 Chinese built HN-SA hand-held anti-aircraft missiles that seem to have vanished from the military's arsenal. By all accounts they were stolen by the American Embassy with the conivence of Bolivian military officers, during May or June of this year. It is reported that they were taken aboard an unmarked C-130 transport aircraft and removed from the country.

When Evo Morales first made these allegations last month, the Bolivian army claimed that the missiles had been disposed of as part of an "annual disposal of obsolete equipment," and the army also claimed that the weapons were still in the country. However, army reports which were released this month show that the missiles, which cost Bolivia about £1,000,000, were well-maintained and had ten more years of service left in them.

At this point I fully expect some idiotic hand-shandyist for war to write in and tell me that 30 missiles will not protect anyone from the American armed forces. Don't bother, lads, because I know this. Besides, it's not the point.

The point is that the theft proves that the United States has pretty thoroughly infiltrated the Bolivian army. Should a future President Morales act against America's interests, and he has already said that he will, then the Americans can remove him as they have done so many before him. They would not need to send in the marines, they could set the scene as they did in Chile and then leave it to the locals to do their dirty work for them.

More:
http://www.the-exile.info/2005_12_01_archive.html

Also, in this article:

US Denies Removal of Bolivian Missiles Was Secret
By David Gollust
Washington
23 December 2005

In-Depth Coverage
The United States denied Thursday that it removed anti-aircraft missiles from Bolivia without the knowledge of top officials in La Paz. The State Department says the operation was at the request of Bolivian authorities and in line with an Organization of American States resolution.

Officials here acknowledge that the United States removed a small number of MANPADS, man-portable air defense system, from Bolivia earlier this year as part of a broader effort to keep the shoulder launch missiles out of the hands of terrorists.

But they are denying charges from Bolivia, which figured in that country's presidential election campaign, that the operation was conducted without the knowledge of senior Bolivian officials.

Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales, the victor in last Sunday's election, has alleged that the 28 Chinese-made missiles were spirited out of the country in June in an operation he described as international intervention.

He says he will press for an investigation of the affair and is quoted as saying he would punish those responsible and evict U.S. military advisers from the country.

Questioned about the issue here, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said U.S. officials had worked with the Bolivian government on the removal of a small quantity of missiles he said were in a deteriorating condition.

He said the removal came at the request of the Bolivian government consistent with an O.A.S. resolution last June and said suggestions to the contrary are untrue:

"As for who was told in Bolivia about the action, you'll have to talk to the Bolivian government about that. As for these other allegations, it's just not true. This was done at the request of the Bolivian government, and it was done in partnership and consistent I would note with an Organization of American States resolution on the matter," he said.

More:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/12/mil-051223-voa01.htm

Also:

MAS Denounces Serious US Interference in Bolivia
Prensa Latina || October 19, 2005

Bolivian presidential candidate Evo Morales denounced Wednesday that troops at the service of the US seized 28 land-air missiles supplied by China to Bolivia and sent them to the United States.

In his news conference, Morales said that "patriotic soldiers" who opposed the operation that took place a few days ago reported the despicable interference to his political party, Movement towards Socialism (MAS).

Consulted by phone, presidential spokesman Julio Pemintel refused to comment and said he had requested information on the matter from Defense Minister Gonzalo Molina.

Morales explained that a Bolivian commando force commanded by elements from the US Embassy and the CIA were involved in the seizure.

He denounced that the group raided an army facility in Viacha, near La Paz, where the missiles were seized and taken to the airport or to El Alto military base, and then were smuggled out of the country by air, supposedly bound for the US.

The weapons had been provided to Bolivia by the People's Republic of China, in accord with bilateral military cooperation agreements.

http://www.knowledgedrivenrevolution.com/Articles/200510/19_US_Bolivia.htm

[Judi Lynn]

5. Bolivian president suspicious over helicopter crash

Bolivian president suspicious over helicopter crash
July 26, 2008, 12:36 pm

LA PAZ (AFP) - Bolivian President Evo Morales has voiced suspicions about the crash of a helicopter he used last week that killed five people, saying the incident was "probably not accidental".

Morales flew aboard the Super Puma on Sunday in southern Bolivia and was scheduled to use it again on Monday to travel from La Paz to the northern city of Cobija, said Defense Minister Walker San Miguel.

But the helicopter, lent to Morales by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, crashed one hour after Morales got off on Sunday.

The four Venezuelan military personnel and one Bolivian major aboard were all killed in the crash, said Defense Minister Walker San Miguel. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Morales told a political rally that the disaster was "probably not accidental," bolstering his supporters' claims that it was an attempt to harm the leftist leader.

More:
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/4826258/bolivian-president-suspicious-helicopter-crash

[Peace Patriot]

6. This is an Agence France Presse (AFP) news report out of New Zealand...

And where, in our benighted corporate 'news' monopolies, does it appear?

The president of a democratic country, Bolivia--the first indigenous president of Bolivia, ever (Bolivia is a largely indigenous country)--raises the alarm about U.S./Bush assassination plots, and that is not 'news.' Well, it's not corporate snooze, that's true. What the fuck do they care about democratic presidents when Britney Spears has to pay more support (top headline at Google's compendium)? This is how they lobotomize us U.S. citizens and voters without our consent, and without most people even knowing that they're doing it. The parts of our brains that might be concerned about what the Bushites are doing in South America get atrophied, because there are enough black holes in our 'news' reports to actually shrink the parts of our brains that deal with citizen oversight of our government, the rule of law, and the utter hypocrisy of our national political establishment. If and when these fuckwads assassinate Morales and topple Bolivia's democratic government, they will expect our damaged brains to shrug it off as another example of South American "banana republic" politics, all the while that they are transforming our own country into the biggest "banana republic" on earth. Ha-ha on us.

I hope South American democracy survives this era. It seems very strong, and also united as all the many leftist democracies begin integrating their countries into a powerful South American "Common Market" (UNASUR). Maybe they will one day teach us what democracy looks like, and we will be able to learn it all over again.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Reminding us of the two men who were found walking around in the fascist stronghold, Santa Cruz's

airport, overly armed for the situation. This was so recent, too:

Assassination plot suspected in Bolivia
June 20, 2008

~snip~
The government has well-founded reasons to believe this involves an attempted assassination," said Sacha Llorenti, deputy minister of social movements, at a news conference.

But the two had already gone free before Llorenti spoke. The Santa Cruz prosecutor's office released the men late Thursday for lack of evidence they had committed a crime, said Ruben Gamarra, vice minister of the interior.

"The prosecutor's decision is lamentable because one of them was carrying a Mauser rifle with a telescopic sight," he said.

The Interior Ministry, in charge of security, said the two men were members of a conservative Santa Cruz youth group that has led protests against Morales' leftist policies.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2008/06/20/assassination_plot_suspected_in_bolivia/

~~~~~~~~~~
What binds that attempt to this "accident?" Both very close in time to the national Bolivian recall, which only very, very recently the racist, fascist governors decided to allow in their areas. They had considered trying to ignore it, previously, after holding their own illegal secession referenda.

Regarding that earlier attempt, can you imagine what would have happened if those two men were discovered in that same situation in an airport where an American Republican politician was expected to arrive?

You'd never see them again, unless you visited them in jail, if they escaped the death penalty.

Looks as if we can look for more attacks on Morales right up until the recall, doesn't it? These criminals won't give up.