MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. The US helped engineer the recent coup in Bolivia, a Russian military expert and researcher of Latin America, Alexander Stepanov, told TASS.

Stepanov is a program director at the Academy of Political Sciences and a senior researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

On June 26, a group of Bolivian military servicemen led by General Juan Jose Zuniga, who was dismissed as army commander the day before, occupied the square in front of the cabinet building in La Paz. Bolivian President Luis Arce slammed the move as an attempted coup and named a new army commander.

"Here are the reasons for the attempted coup in Bolivia, which was initiated by the US special services: First, it is Bolivia's bid to join BRICS, and second, Bolivia has the world's largest reserves (24% of the world's total) of lithium, a metal that plays a key role in the development of green energy and high-tech sector," Stepanov told TASS.

Among other reasons, he named a deal with Russia to build a $600 million industrial complex in Bolivia to mine and produce lithium carbonate. One more reason, according to the analyst, is the creation of the continent's first center for nuclear medicine, which makes the country the Latin American leader in the treatment of cancer. Also, Stepanov said the El Alto Nuclear Research and Technology Center was started there in 2023 with the purpose to allow Bolivia to conduct fundamental and applied scientific research.

"It is likely that a group of pro-American members of the military elite was formed and they attempted to change power by force. The communication that is still ongoing through the Washington-based Organization of American States, an organization that trains commanders in defense ministries across the region, could also have had an impact on the formation of a pro-US stratum in Bolivia's military force. One thing is clear: Washington will not give up its regional interests and will continue its sabotage in the countries that dare to challenge the hegemon," Stepanov stated.

Furthermore, the expert said Bolivia has intense cooperation not only with Russia, but also with China, which invests in Bolivian transportation and energy infrastructure.

He said that in April 2023, General Laura Richardson, commander of US Southern Command, visited Bolivia to express her interest and concern about Bolivian lithium.

"Essentially, the Bolivian president was then issued an ultimatum by Washington, and what we have been seeing in the past day is its consequences," the analyst said.