, 7 tweets, 1 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
The Añez will offer two alibis for the #Sacaba #massacre: the actual use of dynamite by demonstrators and the alleged presence of Venezuelans. Neither is justification for murder.
Dynamite is a perennial object in Bolivian protest, used typically for loud noises and space-clearing. Despite its fearsome image, it's an ineffective antipersonnel weapon.
Bolivian police have handled thousands of protests that used dynamite in this way without shooting anyone.
Since 1982, twice as many people have been killed in Bolivian political conflict by tear gas (and its canisters) than by dynamite.
And most of the dynamite deaths were outside of the protesters vs policing scenario. (An explosive vest and an inter-union firefight among miners.)
Soldiers who deploy live ammunition as crowd control are courting a massacre and their commanders are fully responsible.
Since early 2004 (under Carlos Mesa), the Bolivian military has standing orders against this kind of rapid armed intervention and someone, likely the Añez-Murillo civilian team must have changed the rules to authorize this outrage.
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Carwil Bjork-James

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!