US Shuts the Door on Another Bolivian Official

The US government managed to shut the door on yet another Bolivian official this week, barring his entry into the US for an official work visit. This time it was Renee Orellana, Bolivia’s Water Vice-Minister. This latest incident follows one in February in which a MAS Senator, Leonilda Zurita, discovered her US visa revoked as she was boarding a flight from Santa Cruz.

The US Ambassador, David Greenlee blamed the denial of a visa for Orellana on bureaucracy rather than politics, telling a Bolivian radio station, This is an administrative issue, it is not a political signal. We have to find out why our electronic system rejected the application, there may be a very simple answer, it could be a mix-up.

US officials, in posts large and small, are allowed to travel freely to Bolivia. In fact, any US citizen can show up at the airport without a visa and get 90 days stamped in his or her passport. But the US can’t get its act together to let key Bolivian officials in the US on official business. I know Orellana well. He is one of the most competent appointments in the new government.

Bureaucratic incompetence by US officials won’t hold up for too much longer as an excuse.