Bolivian Security Forces Clash with Protesters as Economic Crisis Deepens

Bolivian security forces deployed tear gas and arrested dozens of people during large-scale operations to clear road blockades around the capital La Paz on Saturday. Approximately 3,500 police officers and soldiers were mobilized to disperse protesters who had blocked key routes to the capital at 22 locations across the country. The confrontations represent the latest escalation in Bolivia's mounting civil unrest, driven by what authorities describe as the country's worst economic crisis in four decades. The road blockades threatened to cut off vital supply lines to La Paz, prompting the government's forceful response amid growing public discontent over deteriorating economic conditions.