Bolivian forces take control of pipeline

LA PAZ, Bolivia – Soldiers and police retook control of a natural gas installation Saturday, using tear gas and rubber bullets to drive out protesters who had forced the closing of a key pipeline serving the nation’s two largest cities.

Demonstrators seized the Transredes pumping station near Camiri, 320 miles southeast of La Paz, following five days of protests demanding that President Evo Morales broaden his petroleum nationalization and expand state energy company operations in the area.


Interior Government Minister Alfredo Rada confirmed Saturday that two protesters had been injured in the operation. He said protesters later tried to retake the plant by blasting through its outer wall with dynamite, a tactic he called “absolutely unjustified.”

“Using explosives so close to a hydrocarbons installation is highly dangerous,” Rada said. “We ask the leaders of Camiri to act with rationality, responsibility, and patriotism.”

AP