Trump’s New Security Alliance Faces First Real-World Test as Troops Deploy in South America

Bolivia’s worsening security situation is becoming one of the first major real-world tests of President Donald Trump’s Shield of the Americas, the country’s defense minister told News Media. Security forces are moving into strategic areas as President Rodrigo Paz’s government prepares for the possibility of renewed unrest.

“I believe this is one of the first real tests of whether Shield of the Americas can move from declarations to concrete results,” Bolivian Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said in an exclusive interview with News Media.

Justiniano emphasized, however, that Bolivia is not claiming a coup attempt is currently in progress. “I am not saying today that we have proven evidence of a specific operation currently underway to overthrow the President,” he said. “What we do have are very serious precedents and warning signs that justify preventive action.”

Trump introduced Shield of the Americas at a March summit in Florida, bringing Western Hemisphere governments together to expand economic and security cooperation, including efforts to counter transnational crime.

Justiniano spoke as Paz’s government works to prevent a repeat of more than 50 days of road blockades earlier this year. The disruptions caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine while intensifying Bolivia’s economic crisis. On Sept. 17, the country’s Assembly approved a 90-day extension of the state of emergency, citing continued risks of renewed blockades. Some opposition lawmakers and social groups opposed the measure, saying it did not address the unrest’s underlying causes. Reuters

A U.S. official told News Media that “the United States is unwavering in its commitment to support Bolivia’s democracy and the Paz Administration as it rebuilds the country after 20 years of failed socialist policies. The Trump Administration will continue to stand with Bolivia as it works toward stability, security, and a better future for all Bolivians.”

“The threat is serious enough for us to take preventive measures, but I do not want to portray a government that is under siege or weak,” Justiniano said. “There is one fundamental difference: Bolivia learned… We do not confuse legitimate social discontent with a threat to democracy. People may agree or disagree with our economic policies. They can march, protest and challenge the government. That is democracy. What is not democratic is trying to impose a decision through violence, indefinite blockades or threats against the constitutional order.”

The defense minister confirmed that police and military personnel have already been deployed across Bolivia as a precaution.

“There is a preventive deployment in different parts of the country, particularly along strategic routes, access points to major cities and locations considered sensitive for freedom of movement, supply lines and the protection of critical infrastructure,” Justiniano said.

He declined to disclose the precise locations, troop levels or movements of military units, explaining that the deployment would be adjusted as the risk level changed.

The latest developments came only days after Trump met with Shield of the Americas leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22. The White House has characterized the initiative as a Western Hemisphere alliance centered on economic and national security. The White House

A State Department spokesperson told News Media that “the United States values its close partnership with Bolivia, a Shield of the Americas participant, to advance economic growth and solve the security challenges posed by corruption and transnational crime.”

“President Paz survived 53 days of blockades and violent attempts to undermine his presidency,” the spokesperson said. “As the country’s elected leader, we support his administration’s ongoing work to repair Bolivia’s economy after more than 20 years of corrupt mismanagement by Evo Morales’s Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party.”

The State Department said visa restrictions announced Sept. 28 were aimed at Bolivian nationals whom Washington accused of undermining “the security and governance progress President Paz and his administration are achieving.” The department said the measures “reinforce, not undercut, our cooperation.”

According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration revoked the visas of 27 officials, former officials and relatives from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Those affected included Bolivian Prosecutor General Roger Mariaca, whom the State Department accused of corruption and facilitating narcotrafficking. Mariaca has denied the allegations.

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Justiniano said Bolivia has formally asked the United States to provide the information supporting its action.

“The case of Bolivia’s Prosecutor General, Roger Mariaca, is particularly serious because the U.S. government has publicly made specific allegations involving corruption and the facilitation of drug trafficking,” he said.

But the defense minister cautioned against drawing a direct connection between those affected by the visa restrictions and the current unrest. “It would be irresponsible for me to automatically state that everyone affected by those measures is connected to the current mobilizations,” Justiniano said. “We do not have public evidence that would justify that generalization.”

Asked what assistance Washington is providing in response to the current threat, Justiniano declined to say whether the U.S. was supplying operational intelligence or other direct assistance.

“What I can say is that Bolivia wants to deepen this cooperation,” he said.

Justiniano said Bolivia is seeking closer cooperation with the United States on information sharing, financial intelligence, counter-narcotics, organized crime, border security, extraditions, training and institutional strengthening.

That push was already evident last week, when Bolivian Minister of the Presidency Fernando Aramayo told News Media on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that the Paz government views its struggle against organized crime as part of a wider regional challenge.

“We recognize the legitimacy of protests and demonstrations that demand responses from the government,” Aramayo said. “What we are attacking right now is all the attacks against our democracy that have been financed by narco-traffic money and organized international crime.”

Aramayo said the government had received support from Washington. “The White House has supported us and other countries in this fight against these dark forces,” he said, adding that Bolivia was “very proud of being part of this mechanism like the Shield of Americas.”

Asked whether state actors were also involved in fueling the unrest, Aramayo said corruption and organized crime had become deeply embedded during the previous two decades, claiming that institutions, social and political leaders and private-sector actors had become entangled with transnational criminal organizations.

Justiniano stressed that the military deployments are not intended to suppress peaceful demonstrations and said police retain primary responsibility for public order.

“We are preparing for a risk, not declaring that a coup is underway,” he said.

The distinction goes to the heart of the challenge confronting Shield of the Americas: how a regional initiative built in part to combat cartels and transnational organized crime operates when a member government says those networks are intersecting with domestic political unrest.

News Media’s David Unsworth contributed to this article.