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Bolivian troops drive off mob at leading airport

Residents were angry over the federal seizure of the airport.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 19, 2007

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia - Soldiers fired tear gas at angry residents who tried to storm Bolivia's busiest airport Thursday as the facility became a focal point of an autonomy dispute between the federal government and the country's wealthiest province.

Several hundred residents of the city and province of Santa Cruz attempted to crash through the gates of the Viru Viru airport, which was seized earlier in the day by the military amid a dispute over landing fees.

Waving green-and-white Santa Cruz flags and setting off fireworks, the protesters were repelled by volleys of tear gas fired by military police from behind the airport's gates.

"The airport belongs to Santa Cruz!" some 300 to 400 protesters shouted. Some said the government rebuffed their attempts to open negotiations on returning control of the airport to the state, and vowed to maintain a vigil at the gate Thursday night.

About 220 air force troops and military police stormed Viru Viru after airport workers detained an American Airlines plane on the runway, demanding the carrier pay them landing fees in cash. The plane was bound for Miami on Tuesday with 140 passengers.

The workers were demanding the airline pay landing fees of up to $2,000 in cash locally, rather than deposit the fees with the federal airport authority.

Wednesday, American temporarily suspended service to Bolivia due to the conflict.

In the military raid, one soldier was wounded by gunfire and another was treated for cuts, officials said.

The airport conflict took on broader political implications because Santa Cruz, the nation's largest province, has chafed under the government of leftist President Evo Morales as it moves to nationalize industries and redistribute land and wealth to the country's poor majority.

[Last modified October 19, 2007, 01:00:37]