Bolivia–Iran Defense Agreement About More Than ‘Border Security,’ Insiders Say

Bolivia’s leftist Arce administration has acknowledged its entry into a security agreement with Iran, a month after its signing, sparking immediate backlash and concern throughout the region.

The Iranian national flag in a file photo. Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

Bolivia announced its entry into a security agreement with Iran on July 25, sparking immediate backlash and concern throughout the region. A former high-ranking member of Bolivia’s government says there’s much more at work than the official story, which claims that the agreement will help “fight against smuggling” near the country’s borders.

After five days of silence and speculation over the Bolivian delegation that met with Iranian officials, the administration of leftist President Luis Arce released an official recap of Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo’s visit.

The defense agreement, which was reportedly signed on July 20, centers around an exchange of technology and equipment to support Bolivia’s armed forces in “the control and surveillance of the border areas through which illegal activity enters ... as well as in the fight against drug trafficking, particularly in eastern Bolivia through tributaries that connect with the neighboring country of Brazil, as well as in the south of the country, with Paraguay and Argentina.”

Areas of security cooperation and hardware purchases outlined include military drones, surveillance equipment, boats, nanotechnology, and cyber security.

Argentina’s minister of foreign relations, Santiago Cafiero, was swift to respond and requested information on the “scope” of the agreement from Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta from the country’s embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mr. Novillo stressed during a press conference the importance of drones and cyber security for Bolivia’s armed forces.

“Iran showed us the development of drones because we told them that we have mountainous and high geography. In this understanding, they answered that this technology could satisfy the stated requirement,” he said.

While the agreement looks reasonable on the surface, not everyone is buying the official story. Much of that concern stems from Iran’s history of cooperation with actors in Latin America who work against Western security interests.

The Iranian warship IRIS Makran sails near Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 27, 2023. Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty Images

“The wording is misleading, and Bolivia does not need that kind of cooperation,” former Bolivian official Carlos Sánchez Berzain told The Epoch Times.

Mr. Berzain is the director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy and has held multiple government positions in Bolivia, including minister of defense and minister of the presidency.

He believes that deeper military cooperation between Bolivia and Iran is nothing more than a veil for the latter to take advantage of Bolivia’s geopolitical and geographical position. This, in turn, would make his home country “a base for the theocratic dictatorship of Iran to threaten international peace and security in the region.”

Circling Back

When examining Bolivia’s past attempts at political alignment with Iran, the sense of unease being expressed by critics over the agreement becomes more clear.

In 2008, then-recently elected President Evo Morales proudly announced that Bolivia would expand its relations with Iran during a televised conference alongside then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“No country and no force can affect our relationship with revolutionary Iran,” Mr. Morales said, noting that stronger ties between the nations would help fight against “imperialism.”

By this, he meant fighting against the United States, which Mr. Morales referred to throughout his presidency as “the empire.”

At the time, the former Bolivian president’s declaration sent shockwaves through the international community. It was followed by a joint attempt at a nuclear power plant project in the Andean city of El Alto that was initially announced in 2010 and then again in 2015.

However, nothing came of Mr. Morales’s red-eyed rhetoric and public embracing of Iran, despite remaining in office until 2019. Yet with the sudden arrival of Iranian warships to Brazilian shores under leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this year, some say the Bolivia–Iran reboot is a harbinger of significant regional changes—in which cooperation with the United States and its interests are a thing of the past.

President of Bolivia and presidential candidate for MAS Evo Morales speaks during a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia, on Oct. 23, 2019. Javier Mamani/Getty Images

The U.S. State Department noted on July 27 that while it retains a “mutually respectful” relationship with Bolivia—including about $1 billion in annual bilateral trade—the department cited concerns over “anti-democratic actions and the politicization of the legal system.”

“The reactions and concerns are valid. We must remember the context in which this happens,” Mr. Berzain said, describing Bolivia under Mr. Arce as one of the 21st century’s “satellite dictatorships of socialism.”

From Mr. Berzain’s perspective, Bolivia’s entry into a formal security agreement with Iran doesn’t bode well for his home country.

“Two very serious events have happened in a matter of days for Bolivian sovereignty and international peace and security ... the delivery of Bolivia’s lithium resources to Russia and China and the signing of Bolivia’s military agreement with Iran, which occurred after the visit of [former President] Evo Morales and Luis Arce to Cuba,” he said.

During the first week of July, reports emerged that Mr. Arce and Mr. Morales traveled to Havana at the behest of Cuba’s communist regime. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel reportedly hoped to settle a bitter ongoing political dispute between Bolivia’s current and former head of state before the 2025 presidential election.

For nearly two years, the politicians have butted heads over matters of governance, creating division and unrest within the ranks of Bolivia’s current ruling political party: the Movement for Socialism.

Supporters of Bolivia's president and candidate Evo Morales demonstrate against the main opposition candidate, former President (2003–05) Carlos Mesa, as supporters of both groups gather outside the hotel where the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has its headquarters to count the election votes, in La Paz, on Oct. 21, 2019. AIZAR RALDES/AFP via Getty Images

Foot in the Door

When it comes to curtailing trafficking along Bolivia’s vastly unpatrolled borders, the country needs all the help it can get.

The land-locked South American nation has some of the most remote, challenging terrain borders, which offers a wealth of opportunities for narcotics, weapons, and illegal vehicle smuggling. This challenge presents a golden opportunity for Iran.

“Iran, no surprise, is looking for opportunities to market their drones throughout the region,” Evan Ellis, a regional analyst and Latin America research professor, told The Epoch Times.

Mr. Ellis noted that Iran’s advancements in the technology and medical sectors make it an ideal candidate for providing the kind of equipment and training that Mr. Novillo described. He noted that Iran has familiarity with Russian defense technology, an added bonus for Bolivia’s regime since some of its current security equipment comes from Moscow.

“In general, it makes sense. But it certainly creates a number of different collaboration opportunities for Iran and Bolivia,” Mr. Ellis said.

He said the technology that Bolivia is purchasing from Iran—such as military drones—probably won’t be limited to border security and countertrafficking operations. For Iran, it’s like getting a foot in the door, and the agreement “strengthens other types of cooperation,” he said.

Terrorism Threat

One of the potential consequences of Bolivia’s expanded relationship with Iran is a broader reach for the state-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah. The group has operated in isolated pockets throughout Latin America for decades, particularly near the triple border of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.

In Argentina, Hezbollah was connected to the bombing of the Israeli Embassy and a Jewish Community Center during the 1990s.

“Iran is a theocratic dictatorship that threatens world peace and security, and any agreement with that regime is an agreement with organized crime,” Mr. Berzain said. “I insist that the text of the agreement falsifies the true purpose of making Bolivia an official base of threat to international peace and security.”