Bolivia alleges US role in violent jungle clash

[Judi Lynn]

Oct 25, 1:18 AM EDT
Bolivia alleges US role in violent jungle clash

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- A top Bolivian official on Friday accused the United States of backing armed anti-government groups in a violent jungle clash that left 15 people dead last month, including 13 supporters of leftist President Evo Morales.

Presidential Minister Juan Ramon Quintana said that Bolivia would "denounce before the entire world" that the U.S. had "participated in the massacare" on Sept. 11 in the remote Amazonian province of Pando.

Quintana did not provide any evidence for the charge or elaborate on what he meant by the word "participate," alleging only that the U.S. "accompanied the criminal policies" of Pando's opposition governor, Leopoldo Fernandez, who has since been jailed for allegedly fomenting the violence.

Quintana also accused the U.S. Agency for International Development of unspecified "direct involvement" in the province.

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