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(CNN Spanish) - The Government of the interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, declared on Monday a non-grata person to the Mexican ambassador in that country, María Teresa Mercado, to the charge of business of the Embassy of Spain, Cristina Borreguero and to the consul of Spain in Bolivia, Álvaro Fernández and allowed 72 hours for them to leave the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico reported in a statement that instructed the return to Mexico of Ambassador Mercado "in order to protect their security and integrity." In the statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico considers that the decision of the Government of Bolivia is "political in nature" and clarifies that the Embassy will continue to operate normally.
CNN is trying to get a reaction from the Spanish Embassy in Bolivia.
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In a press conference accompanied by the Minister of Defense and the foreign minister, Áñez said that "this group of representatives of the Governments of Mexico and Spain have seriously injured the sovereignty and dignity of the people and the constitutional Government of Bolivia," and added that the incident that occurred outside the residence of the ambassador of Mexico in La Paz, "are facts that we cannot pass up and have generated consequences."
Maria Teresa Mercado (i) in a photo of 2010 with the then US ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual (OMAR TORRES / AFP via Getty Images)
According to the complaint made by the chancellor, Karen Longaric, on Friday, hooded men who accompanied Borreguero, entered the diplomatic residence of Mexico in La Paz where several former officials of the government of former president Evo Morales are isolated. Longaric said that according to stories from the residents of the area, the hooded were armed, which would violate the Vienna Convention.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico confirmed in a statement Borreguero and Fernández, visited the residence of Mexico, as agreed Thursday.
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The visit, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lasted approximately 40 minutes.
The communiqué of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that “at the end of it, Ambassador María Teresa Mercado accompanied them to the terrace of the entrance of the residence where their cars would wait”, but that they did not arrive. Shortly after, the text indicates, "the Spanish diplomats were informed that their cars had been stopped at the access of the urbanization towards the residence of Mexico and were not allowed to enter."
Finally and after several attempts at communication between governments, the Bolivian government offered to send a vehicle to the residence to pick them up and they accepted, the statement of the Mexican authorities adds.
For its part, the government of Spain through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has agreed to open an investigation in relation to the events that occurred during the visit of the Ad interim Business Manager of Spain to the Ambassador of Mexico in Bolivia".
For Áñez, this explanation is "inconsistent."
“Bolivia, gentlemen, is no longer a colony of anybody,” said Áñez and added that “the democracy recovered by the Bolivians after 14 years of dictatorship is respected. The constitutional government of Bolivia is respected, the dignity and courage of Bolivians is respected. ”
Bolivia Conflict Meteotension