Bolivia accuses US of spying on L America

LA PAZ - Bolivian President Evo Morales on Thursday accused the United States of spying on his and other Latin American countries.

The Bolivian president said the spying is done under the cover of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"I am convinced that some NGOs, especially those funded by the USAID, are the fifth column of espionage in Bolivia, not only in Bolivia, but also in all of Latin America," Morales said during a press conference in Oruro, a southwestern Bolivian city.

Morales said the United States, through the cover of development aid operations of those organizations, knows "all the details of the activities of the social sectors and union leaders" in those Latin American countries.

The president regretted that some union leaders were allegedly used by these NGOs to stir disputes such as the one over a highway project in an indigenous territory in his country.

Morales has ordered to temporarily suspend the construction of the new highway amid strong public criticism for police crackdown on indigenous protesters in September last year.

Also at the press conference, the Bolivian president pledged to resolve the indigenous conflict through broad consultations based on international rules established by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Bolivian Constitution.