BOLIVIA ORDERS U.S. AMBASSADOR EXPELLED

President Evo Morales Accuses Ambassador Philip Goldberg of Fostering
Divisions in the Fractured Andean Nation.

BUENOS AIRES -- Bolivian President Evo Morales ordered the expulsion
Wednesday of the U.S. ambassador to his country, accusing him of
fostering divisions in the deeply fractured Andean nation.

The move comes as tensions rise and violence increases in states
opposed to the leftist policies of Morales. The president has
regularly accused Washington and its ambassador of plotting against
him.

"The one who conspires against democracy and above all seeks the
division of Bolivia is the ambassador of the United States," Morales
said during a speech at the presidential palace.

Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg, a veteran diplomat who has served more
than two years in La Paz, Bolivia's administrative capital, was
declared persona non grata and will have to leave the country,
probably within 48 to 72 hours.

"We don't want people who are separatists, who foment divisions, who
conspire against unity," Morales said, referring to Goldberg.

U.S. officials in La Paz said that Goldberg was surprised by the
decision and that the embassy was awaiting an official statement from
the Bolivian government.

The expulsion order is the culmination of tension between Morales and
Goldberg that mirrors the deteriorating state of U.S.-Bolivian relations.

Morales, who took office in January 2006 as Bolivia's first Indian
president, is an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the
region's preeminent critic of Washington.

Despite Morales' frequent assaults on U.S. policy, Bolivia receives
more than $100 million a year in U.S. aid, much of it to fight the
drug trade. Bolivia is the world's third-largest producer of the coca
leaf, the raw ingredient in cocaine.

Even though he is president, Morales still heads a major federation of
coca producers. He has defended farmers' right to plant coca, but has
also cooperated with U.S.-backed efforts to block trafficking.

Goldberg heard of Morales' decision Wednesday during a meeting with
Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, the U.S. Embassy said.
Goldberg had requested the meeting to discuss Bolivia's decision to
expel agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from the
Chapare, a major coca-producing zone and Morales' home base.

State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid called the accusations
against Goldberg "baseless," the Associated Press reported from
Washington. There was no immediate word on what reciprocal steps
Washington might take.

Violent protests have convulsed Bolivia in recent days. Demonstrators
on Tuesday sacked and burned government offices in the city of Santa
Cruz, the epicenter of opposition to Morales.

A pipeline blast reportedly forced the country to reduce exports of
natural gas to Brazil. What caused the blast remained unclear. Bolivia
has South America's second-largest natural gas reserves, after Venezuela.

The governors of five of Bolivia's nine states are aligned against
Morales and his agenda of nationalization and empowering the poor
Indian masses.

Morales has accused the rebellious states of plotting against him with
the U.S. ambassador. Goldberg has repeatedly denied any interference
in Bolivian affairs.