Manfred Reyes Villa's Washington Tour

In the aftermath of the conflict and violence that struck Cochabamba two weeks ago –sparked by his demand for a regional re-vote on the autonomy issue – Cochabamba governor Manfred Reyes Villa decided to extend his absence from the region, and the nation, and headed for Washington.

Starting late last week Reyes Villa has been meeting with a series of US-based human rights groups to seek backing for his clams that the Morales government instigated an attempted "coup" against his governorship. According to a release that Reyes Villa sent to journalists, his meetings included Human Right Watch, The Center for Justice and International Law, and Inter-American Dialogue.

Reyes Villa placed the blame for the Cochabamba violence squarely on President Morales, declaring in his release that the goal of his visit was to: "denounce the process of overthrow of elected departmental governments undertaken by the government of Evo Morales."

Reyes Villa claims to have secured a commitment from Human Rights Watch to form a commission to come to Cochabamba and investigate the events earlier this month.

I hope that HRW does come and does do the kind of thorough investigation that the group has done before here on issues like the US War on Coca. Those questions should not only look at MAS role in the January violence, but the role of the Governor and his backers as well.