The CIA station in La Paz instructed the Head of the Federal Intelligence Agency of Argentina (AFI) in Bolivia, José Sánchez, to support the gathering of information on Evo Morales and his administration and all the Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan officials residing in Bolivia, including diplomats, according to information published in the portal Behind Back Doors, on January 30.

This was revealed in an article entitled “Behind the Coup: The Argentine Intelligence Agency (AFI) in Bolivia”.

According to the web site, in order to carry this out, José Sánchez utilized not only his agents in the country, but also requested the support of representatives in Brazil, Colombia and Peru.

According to the portal of leaks, that in the past contributed valuable data on the US financing of the failed “soft coup” of April-July 2018 in Nicaragua, the CIA station in Bolivia requested the following information from the AFI:

1. The elaboration of psychological profiles of the main leaders of the Bolivian government, specially the most influential ministers. This includes Juan Ramón Quintana and Diego Pari.

2. Intelligence gathering that could link Bolivian government officials with the drug trade.

3. Intelligence gathering on the private businesses of Bolivian government officials that can be linked to corruption schemes.

4. The identification of Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan citizens working in Bolivia.

5. The identification of the diplomats of said countries working in Bolivia.

This information would be utilized by the Special Services of the United States for carrying out media campaigns against Evo Morales, both before and after the elections as part of the effort to block his re-election.

The portal Behind Back Doors explains that José Sánchez maintained close relations with officials of the United States Embassy that went beyond his duties as a diplomat. This included Rolf Olsen and Annette Dorothy Blakeslee, both officials of the CIA Station in La Paz.

Annette Dorothy Blakeslee was also in Nicaragua as a medical official of USAID in the United States Embassy in Managua. What is interesting here is that this is one of the diplomatic covers used by the CIA in its secret operations.

The portal adds that Mr. Sánchez had diplomatic cover, but in reality served as a link with the secret services of the countries. He was in charge of the two stations of the AFI: one in La Paz and the other in the Consulate in Santa Cruz. The latter was used to distribute funds for the opposition in this city. The funds, in turn, were provided by the United States Embassy.

Behind Back Door ends by noting that, in spite of the fact that Sanchez was expected to end his mission on December 2, he was mysteriously relieved of his post just two months before the Coup against Evo.

31/01/2020

(Translated for ALAI by Jordan Bishop and Joan Remple)

https://managuaconamor.blogspot.com/2020/01/golpe-en-bolivia-cia-uso-la.html