This article originally appeared at Gegenfrage. Translated for RI by Paul Dunne

In the event of a US invasion of Venezuela, Bolivia would side with Venezuela.

So said Bolvia's president Morales during an emergency session of ALBA, and

called on other Latin American heads of state to draw closer together.

A true leader

Bolivia's president Evo Morales warned that the USA would pay a high price for

any act of aggression against Venezuela. He also called on US President Barack

Obama to apologize for the recent announcement that Venezuela presented a

threat to the national security of the USA. Sputnik reported him as saying

further that his country was ready to fight against the USA.



"Bolivia is the beloved child of Simon Bolivar and is ready to fight for

this land and to fend off any act of aggression by the United States against

Venezuela", the news portal Noticias24 reported Morales as saying. Apparently

he made this announcement during an emergency session of the "Bolivian Alliance

for the People of Our America" (ALBA), an economic and political alliance of

nine Latin-American states.



"In view of a threat such as this, this is the perfect moment for us to draw

even closer together", the president said. He added that he would prefer tor see

the USA as a true defender of peace and not as a country that maintains its

global hegemony through force.



"I want to tell you that this unity (ALBA) should be strengthened, because I

really believe that the United States fears a democratic, peaceful and economic

liberation of Latin America and the Carribean." Morales further said.



Bolivia's president has been extremely critical of Washington since the failed coup attempt in 2008. Morales himself has held the Bush administration directly responsible for giving the go-ahead to the coup.

