Bolivian president blames "narco terrorism" for 53-day blockades that disrupted services

President Rodriguez Faz Porera told the U.N. General Assembly that weeks of road blockades in Bolivia disrupted essential services and endangered lives. "For 53 days there were blockages of roads in Bolivia ... blocking access to health care and education, and more than 20 people died," he said, adding that those blockades were financed by "narco terrorism" and drug trafficking.

He framed the events as an attack on constitutional order and urged faster multilateral responses, saying slow procedures for providing funds to governments in crisis give organized crime an advantage. The president called for international cooperation to protect democratic governance and to prevent criminal networks from undermining state institutions.