Pete Hegseth warns narco-terrorists as US backs Bolivia's government amid coup warnings
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On Thursday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed the United States’ dedication to bolstering Bolivia’s vulnerable government in the face of persistent coup threats.

Through a statement on X, Hegseth emphasized that the War Department, along with the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) — a newly formed international military and political alliance — stands firmly against any attempts to destabilize President Rodrigo Paz Pereira’s administration, just six months into his leadership.

“The United States remains vigilant. Bolivia must resist slipping back into the era of narco-terrorist control in the region,” Hegseth stated. “We will persist in supporting our A3C allies, like Bolivia, to ensure that those benefitting from violence and chaos in our hemisphere are thwarted.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addressed the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on May 30, 2026, where he reiterated the Trump administration’s backing for Bolivia amid widespread protests. (Edgar Su/Reuters)

La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, has been a focal point of unrest, with mass protests causing significant disruptions in major cities due to economic inflation and surging fuel prices.

In a related development, Bolivian Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas stepped down from his position on Tuesday.

Upon taking office, Paz supported a land reform bill to boost agribusiness that Indigenous farmers said put them at risk of eviction. He further scrapped fuel subsidies, sending prices surging by nearly 90%. Motorists complained that the gasoline was contaminated and ruined their cars.

The Trump administration has said drug traffickers are responsible for inciting the mass unrest.

Police officers fired tear gas at community members who seized the Humberto Suarez oil facility during protests calling for President Rodrigo Paz’s resignation in Santa Rosa del Sara, Bolivia, on June 3, 2026. The protests have caused fuel and food shortages. (Ipa Ibanez/Reuters)

“Let there be no mistake: the United States stands squarely in support of Bolivia’s legitimate constitutional government,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote Wednesday on X. “We will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected leaders in our hemisphere.”

“Let us not make any mistake about that; it is a coup financed by this perverse alliance between politics and organized crime across the region,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Tuesday, stating that the protests were part of an ongoing “coup d’état.”

Bolivia's President Rodrigo Paz delivering a speech in La Paz

Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz delivers a speech in La Paz on June 3, 2026, after naming Ernesto Justiniano as defense minister following the resignation of Marcelo Salinas amid protests. (Claudia Morales/Reuters)

Meanwhile, former President Evo Morales, the country’s first Indigenous president who ruled for an unprecedented 14 years, is calling for early elections. “Paz only has two paths left: a suicidal decision like militarization or … an election in the next 90 days,” he wrote on X.

For almost two years now, Morales has been hiding out in Bolivia’s central coca-growing Chapare region, evading an arrest warrant on human trafficking charges relating to allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl. He rejects the allegations as politically motivated.

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