US defence secretary compares Bolivia protests to government ‘overthrow’

The Trump administration has supported Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz after his electoral victory over the left-wing Movement for Socialism.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has issued a statement appearing to characterise the anti-government protests in Bolivia as an attempted coup against the country’s right-wing president.

On Thursday, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth posted on social media that the US military establishment would “reject all attempts to overthrow the legitimate government” of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz.

He then proceeded to suggest that the protesters — many of whom are teachers, miners, farmers and union workers — are in league with “narco-terrorists”, the Trump administration’s term for drug traffickers.

“The United States is watching. Bolivia must not allow itself to fall prey to the old status quo of narco-terrorist dominance in the region,” Hegseth wrote.

The message was the latest indication that the Trump administration plans to continue taking an active role in Latin American politics and security.

Since returning to the presidency for a second term in 2025, Trump has outlined an expansionist plan for the US, and his administration has described the entire Western Hemisphere as its “neighbourhood” to patrol.

“This is OUR Hemisphere, and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened,” the State Department posted in January.

The Trump administration has also designated multiple criminal networks in Latin America as “terrorist” organisations.

Earlier this year, Trump established a security initiative called the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C), under the umbrella of the Shield of the Americas, to bring together right-wing governments from across the region to collaborate on issues like crime and security.

Paz, the Bolivian president, was among the leaders to attend the A3C’s inaugural summit in March.

But domestically, his government has faced a rocky start. Paz was elected in Bolivia’s presidential run-off in October, marking the end of nearly two decades of governance from the Movement for Socialism (MAS).

His administration quickly moved to restore ties with the US, after they were severed in 2008 over disputes about the US’s aggressive anti-drug policy and other issues.

Bolivia is the third largest producer of coca, the raw material for the drug cocaine, but the crop also has uses in traditional medicine and Andean ceremony. Unions of coca farmers continue to be a powerful political force in the country.

Some of Paz’s early moves, however, have alarmed tha