This Friday morning, a serious diplomatic incident occurred in La Paz, Bolivia, which was echoed by Spanish media on Saturday, very unevenly. What happened?<\/p>\n
The statement published on Friday by the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs<\/big><\/p>\n This Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia published a statement<\/a> denouncing that \"people who have been identified as officials of the Spanish Embassy in Bolivia, accompanied by people with their faces covered, attempted to enter the diplomatic residence in a surreptitious and clandestine manner of Mexico in La Paz.\"<\/em><\/strong> According to the statement, the Bolivian Police \"stopped the entry of vehicles to the facilities, since the presence of people with faces covered in the condominium represented a potential threat. The diplomatic staff of the Embassy of Spain freely entered the Mexican diplomatic residence and their dignity was respected at all times and their personal security was protected.<\/em>\" In addition, the Bolivian Foreign Ministry said:<\/p>\n \"The diplomatic and security personnel of the Embassy of Spain in Bolivia are not authorized to carry firearms, nor wear outfits that hide their identity.<\/strong> These acts contravene the most fundamental diplomatic practices and violate the principle of inviolability, considering also that they used vehicles with diplomatic plates assigned to the Embassy of Spain, misusing the immunities<\/strong>, privileges and guarantees that the Bolivian State recognizes and grants to any Diplomatic Mission accredited in the country.\"<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Mexico gives refuge in that embassy to people accused of sedition and terrorism<\/big><\/p>\n The statement adds that these facts \"ratify the attitude of interference in the internal affairs of Bolivia by the Government of Mexico and its accredited Embassy in La Paz<\/strong>, whose behaviors are stressing relations between the two countries.\"<\/em> As Infobae pointed out on December 23, nine former officials of the Government of Evo Morales, including five of their ministers, are refugees at the Mexican Embassy in La Paz.<\/a> There is a circumstance that several of them, starting with the former Minister of the Presidency Juan Ram\u00f3n Quintana, are denounced before the Bolivian Prosecutor for sedition, terrorism and terrorist financing, among other crimes.<\/a> Yesterday, the Interior Minister of Bolivia, Arturo Murillo, declared<\/a>: \"We fear that what was going to be done was to take out a common criminal such as Juan Ram\u00f3n Quintana; This has been aborted.\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Spanish Foreign Ministry says it was a \"courtesy\" visit<\/big><\/p>\n This same Friday the images of what happened were broadcast in Bolivia, which you can see in the following video, which also includes a statement by Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric. In the images you can see the two vehicles that were retained and that were occupied by officials of the Embassy of Spain<\/strong>, and that were rebuked by some people - supposedly neighbors - who felt alarmed when they saw them:<\/p>\n