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U.S. denies sending troops to Bolivia
By FIONA SMITH, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 21, 5:56 PM ET

LA PAZ, Bolivia - President Evo Morales drew a sharp denial from the U.S. Embassy when he claimed in a speech that the United States is sending soldiers disguised as students and tourists to Bolivia.

The accusation, which the U.S. Embassy dismissed as unfounded Wednesday, comes as Morales faces attacks by political opponents for his cozy relationship with President Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, including accepting aid from that country's military.
Morales said in a speech Tuesday that U.S. Ambassador David Greenlee had sought a meeting with him.

"I don't know what he's looking to discuss. I'm not at all afraid of talking — or perhaps he's angry," Morales told thousands of poor supporters.

"But I also have the right to complain because U.S. soldiers disguised as students and tourists are entering the country," said Morales, a leftist who has pledged revolutionary changes for the poor, including his recent move to nationalize Bolivia's natural gas industry.

Morales offered no evidence to back his claim. Spokesman Alex Contreras said Morales would provide evidence, though he did not say when.

The U.S. Embassy called Morales' charge "unfounded," saying in a statement: "We reiterate once more that we are supporting Bolivian democracy in a consistent way."

U.S. military Special Operations teams have been sent to Latin America for the last few years. U.S. officials have said the teams are not covert, and are known to the host governments, but won't say where they're deployed. A report in The Washington Post in April noted the teams were in 20 countries worldwide, and that the Defense Department no longer needs U.S. ambassadors' approval for the missions.

Relations between Bolivia and the U.S. have been frosty since Morales took office in January. While he has built close ties with Venezuela and Cuba, his remarks toward the U.S. have grown increasingly strident.

Earlier this month, Morales said without offering specifics that the U.S. had tried to assassinate him in the past.

Speaking to coca growers Sunday, Morales used a phrase in the native Quechua language that he said may have irritated the U.S. ambassador.

"I shouted, 'Qausachun coca (Long live coca!), wanuchun yanquis (die Yankees!),'" Morales said Tuesday. "If he complains, I, too, have the right to complain."

Meanwhile, a former president Jorge Quiroga, a key opponent, accused Morales this week of compromising Bolivia's sovereignty by inviting Venezuelan soldiers.

It's unclear how many Venezuelan troops are in Bolivia, but Venezuelan pilots have been ferrying Morales around the country for the past two weeks in two loaned military helicopters.

Military cooperation with the United States, meanwhile, has ebbed. The U.S. Embassy would not specify how many Defense Department employees it has in Bolivia, saying only that they number about a few dozen.

Morales' latest accusation comes as Bolivia seeks to extend a preferential trade agreement that has been an economic boost, helping it export $380 million in goods to the U.S. last year. U.S. officials have said it's unlikely Bolivia will get an extension of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, which expires Dec. 31.

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