New report reveals Trump’s DOJ targeted academics who exposed the Bolivian coup regime

AlterNet Logo

Evo Morales’ 13 years as president of Bolivia came to an end when, in 2019, he was removed from power via a coup. According to reporters Ken Klippenstein and Ryan Grim, e-mails that have been obtained by The Intercept and were sent during former President Donald Trump’s final months in office “add new evidence to support Bolivian allegations that the United States was implicated in its 2019 coup.”

“The e-mails reveal the Justice Department’s involvement in the Bolivian coup regime’s criminal investigation into alleged voter fraud, which has not previously been reported,” Klippenstein and Grim explain. “The inquiry targeted a pair of respected MIT researchers about their work for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in which they broadly refuted suspicions that Bolivia’s socialist party had rigged the election.”

The reporters add, “The short-lived coup regime reached power following a clear script: In the weeks leading up to the Bolivian presidential election in October 2019, the opposition pumped endless propaganda through social media and television networks, warning that incumbent President Evo Morales would exploit widespread fraud to win reelection.” Continue reading.