ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld claims that political unrest in Bolivia has been encouraged by Cuba and Venezuela, The Washington Post reports.
Rumsfeld spoke to reporters while en route to Paraguay, which shares a border with Bolivia. Rumsfeld's trip, which will include a stop in Peru, was billed as a chance to reinforce ties with democracies facing problems such as drug trafficking and terrorism, the Post said Wednesday.
One of those is Bolivia, which has seen political pressures build in recent weeks in the form of protests by peasants and urban activists, the Post said.
"Any time you see issues involving stability in a country, it is something that one wishes would be resolved in a democratic, peaceful way. There certainly is evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways," the Post quoted Rumsfeld as saying.
The Post reported a defense official said radical Islamic groups in the Middle East receive financing from drug traffickers in the South American "tri-border" region of Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia.
