This archive report was first published on 20 November 2019.
La Paz, Bolivia - November 20, 2019
Violence has gripped Bolivia for weeks, with the latest clashes occurring outside a major fuel depot in El Alto, a working-class city just outside the country's de facto capital.
At least five young men were killed when a military unit guarding the Senkata gasoline plant opened fire on protesters who had surrounded it for over a week.
Witnesses said the men were merely walking to work when they were shot by the soldiers.
Family members of the victims identified them as Ronald Quispe and at least one other man, who were among the five killed in the clashes.
Residents gathered to pay their respects to the victims, whose bloodied bodies lay on pews in San Francisco de Asis Church, covered with Bolivian flags and topped with the large-caliber bullets that killed them.
"This is their decree, right here," Jessica Quispe said between sobs while touching the body of her brother Ronald. "He was just going to work."
"This is their decree, right here," Jessica Quispe said between sobs while touching the body of her brother Ronald. "He was just going to work." The clashes have sparked unrest in large parts of El Alto, a traditional stronghold of ousted President Evo Morales, and have further strained relations between the interim government and Morales' supporters.
