U.S., Bolivia to appoint Ambassadors after 18-year break

The United States and Bolivia are coordinating the reinstatement of their Ambassadors “as soon as possible” after nearly two decades without top diplomatic representatives in either country, Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo told AFP on Thursday (February 5, 2026).

Neither country has hosted an Ambassador since 2008, when then-President Evo Morales expelled the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia after accusing him of conspiring against his left-wing government.

The White House retaliated by expelling Bolivia’s Ambassador.

“We have addressed the issue of reinstating Ambassadors,” Mr. Aramayo told AFP, following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday (February 4, 2026).

“The idea is to finalize this task as soon as possible,” he said.

Upon taking office in November, the government of center-right President Rodrigo Paz has sought a rapprochement with the United States.

The left-wing administrations of Mr. Morales and Mr. Luis Arce, which governed the country through much of the past two decades, saw a distancing between Bolivia and western countries including the United States.