SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Policemen who withdrew support from ex-President Evo Morales patrol the streets in La Paz on November 11, 2019. (Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)
In Statement That 'Reads Like a Chilling Warning of More Coups to Come,' Trump Celebrates Military Coup in Bolivia
"The Trump administration has cast aside the pretext of calling for new elections. Now it's praising Evo Morales' resignation at the barrel of a gun."
Nov 11, 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump made official his administration's support for the military coup in Bolivia with a celebratory statement late Monday that one observer said "reads like a chilling warning of more coups to come."
"The United States applauds the Bolivian people for demanding freedom and the Bolivian military for abiding by its oath to protect not just a single person, but Bolivia's constitution," Trump said in a statement posted to the White House website.
"These events send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail," Trump added. "We are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere."
The governments of Nicaragua and Venezuela--both victims of past U.S.-backed military coups--have condemned the ouster of Morales in Bolivia.
The Trump administration has not been quiet about its desire for the removal of Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales, who resigned Sunday under threat from the nation's military, police forces, and violent right-wing protesters.
Hours before Morales resigned in a televised address, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted his support for the findings of the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States (OAS), which alleged Morales' victory in the October presidential election was riddled with fraud. Pompeo also echoed OAS' call for new elections, a demand Morales accepted shortly before he was forced aside.
Guillaume Long, senior policy analyst Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and co-author of recent analysis of the October election, disputed the OAS findings in a statement last week, arguing "there is simply no statistical or evidentiary basis to dispute the vote count results showing that Evo Morales won in the first round."
Following Morales' resignation, "the Trump administration has cast aside the pretext of calling for new elections," tweeted journalist Dan Cohen. "Now it's praising Evo Morales' resignation at the barrel of a gun."
"In the parlance of American empire," Cohen said, "a military coup is considered an expression of democracy."
CEPR co-director Mark Weisbrot tweeted late Monday that Trump's statement in support of the coup in Bolivia is "no surprise."
"The Trump/[Sen. Marco] Rubio team has been helping the coup all along," Weisbrot said. "But his statement, like his 'I like oil, we're keeping the oil," in Syria, is embarrassingly blunt and also menacing."
Trump's applause for the coup in Bolivia came as the Mexican government granted asylum to Morales, who tweeted Monday night that he is leaving Bolivia amid concerns for his safety.
"I am leaving for Mexico, grateful for the openness of these brothers who offered us asylum," said Morales. "Soon I will return with more strength and energy."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
U.S. President Donald Trump made official his administration's support for the military coup in Bolivia with a celebratory statement late Monday that one observer said "reads like a chilling warning of more coups to come."
"The United States applauds the Bolivian people for demanding freedom and the Bolivian military for abiding by its oath to protect not just a single person, but Bolivia's constitution," Trump said in a statement posted to the White House website.
"These events send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail," Trump added. "We are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere."
The governments of Nicaragua and Venezuela--both victims of past U.S.-backed military coups--have condemned the ouster of Morales in Bolivia.
The Trump administration has not been quiet about its desire for the removal of Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales, who resigned Sunday under threat from the nation's military, police forces, and violent right-wing protesters.
Hours before Morales resigned in a televised address, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted his support for the findings of the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States (OAS), which alleged Morales' victory in the October presidential election was riddled with fraud. Pompeo also echoed OAS' call for new elections, a demand Morales accepted shortly before he was forced aside.
Guillaume Long, senior policy analyst Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and co-author of recent analysis of the October election, disputed the OAS findings in a statement last week, arguing "there is simply no statistical or evidentiary basis to dispute the vote count results showing that Evo Morales won in the first round."
Following Morales' resignation, "the Trump administration has cast aside the pretext of calling for new elections," tweeted journalist Dan Cohen. "Now it's praising Evo Morales' resignation at the barrel of a gun."
"In the parlance of American empire," Cohen said, "a military coup is considered an expression of democracy."
CEPR co-director Mark Weisbrot tweeted late Monday that Trump's statement in support of the coup in Bolivia is "no surprise."
"The Trump/[Sen. Marco] Rubio team has been helping the coup all along," Weisbrot said. "But his statement, like his 'I like oil, we're keeping the oil," in Syria, is embarrassingly blunt and also menacing."
Trump's applause for the coup in Bolivia came as the Mexican government granted asylum to Morales, who tweeted Monday night that he is leaving Bolivia amid concerns for his safety.
"I am leaving for Mexico, grateful for the openness of these brothers who offered us asylum," said Morales. "Soon I will return with more strength and energy."
U.S. President Donald Trump made official his administration's support for the military coup in Bolivia with a celebratory statement late Monday that one observer said "reads like a chilling warning of more coups to come."
"The United States applauds the Bolivian people for demanding freedom and the Bolivian military for abiding by its oath to protect not just a single person, but Bolivia's constitution," Trump said in a statement posted to the White House website.
"These events send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail," Trump added. "We are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere."
The governments of Nicaragua and Venezuela--both victims of past U.S.-backed military coups--have condemned the ouster of Morales in Bolivia.
The Trump administration has not been quiet about its desire for the removal of Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales, who resigned Sunday under threat from the nation's military, police forces, and violent right-wing protesters.
Hours before Morales resigned in a televised address, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted his support for the findings of the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States (OAS), which alleged Morales' victory in the October presidential election was riddled with fraud. Pompeo also echoed OAS' call for new elections, a demand Morales accepted shortly before he was forced aside.
Guillaume Long, senior policy analyst Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and co-author of recent analysis of the October election, disputed the OAS findings in a statement last week, arguing "there is simply no statistical or evidentiary basis to dispute the vote count results showing that Evo Morales won in the first round."
Following Morales' resignation, "the Trump administration has cast aside the pretext of calling for new elections," tweeted journalist Dan Cohen. "Now it's praising Evo Morales' resignation at the barrel of a gun."
"In the parlance of American empire," Cohen said, "a military coup is considered an expression of democracy."
CEPR co-director Mark Weisbrot tweeted late Monday that Trump's statement in support of the coup in Bolivia is "no surprise."
"The Trump/[Sen. Marco] Rubio team has been helping the coup all along," Weisbrot said. "But his statement, like his 'I like oil, we're keeping the oil," in Syria, is embarrassingly blunt and also menacing."
Trump's applause for the coup in Bolivia came as the Mexican government granted asylum to Morales, who tweeted Monday night that he is leaving Bolivia amid concerns for his safety.
"I am leaving for Mexico, grateful for the openness of these brothers who offered us asylum," said Morales. "Soon I will return with more strength and energy."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.