Peace Corps News

What is Wrong at the US Embassy in Bolivia?

What is Wrong at the US Embassy in Bolivia?
On July 29, 2007, just before the new volunteers were sworn in, they say embassy security officer Vincent Cooper visited the 30-person group to give a talk on safety and made his request about the Cubans and Venezuelans. "He said it had to do with the fight against terrorism," said one, of the briefing from the embassy official. Others remember being told, "It's for your own safety." Peace Corps Deputy Director Doreen Salazar remembers the incident vividly because she says it was the first time she had heard an embassy official make such a request to a Peace Corps group. Salazar says she and her fellow staff found the comment so out of line that they interrupted the briefing to clarify that volunteers did not have to follow the embassy's instructions, and she later complained directly to the embassy about the incident. "Peace Corps is an a-political institution," Salazar says. "We made it clear to the embassy that this was an inappropriate request, and they agreed." Indeed, the State Department admits having acknowledged the infraction and assuring Salazar that it would not happen again. There is no indication that any of the volunteers made reports to the U.S. Embassy. The press director at the Peace Corps told ABC News in no uncertain terms that the corps is not involved in any intelligence gathering. Read more.

Peace Corps policy against intelligence connections is based on the general authority of the Director of the Peace Corps
Any connection between the Peace Corps and the intelligence community would seriously compromise the ability of the Peace Corps to develop and maintain the trust and confidence of the people in the host countries we serve. Consistent with the policy of every administration since 1961, Director Ron Tschetter, himself a former Volunteer in India (1966-1968), has been very clear in re-affirming this long standing policy and, once again, stressing that Peace Corps Volunteers work on community service and nothing else. Peace Corps policy against intelligence connections is based on the general authority of the Director of the Peace Corps, provided by section 5 (a) of the Peace Corps Act, to establish the terms and conditions of service of Volunteers, by the Foreign Service Act of 1980, and on long-standing agency policy prohibiting any connection between Peace Corps and intelligence activity first enunciated by Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver in 1961.  Read more.

Bolivian President Evo Morales declares US embassy security officer Vincent Cooper as a “persona non grata”
Evo Morales explained that Cooper violated Bolivia’s legal norms by asking US students and Peace Corps workers to spy on Cuban and Venezuelan collaborators in Bolivia. Both the US Embassy and the State Department officially admitted to the espionage campaign for which Ambassador Philip Goldberg should be held responsible. The US Embassy will also need to explain its financial support for the Police Policy Studies Council, a parallel intelligence service dedicated to inciting destabilization campaigns. (ACN). Read more.

U.S. Diplomat Vincent Cooper Recalled After 'Spying' Allegations in Bolivia
The president of Bolivia voiced strong concerns and a U.S. diplomat has been recalled to Washington in the wake of an ABC News report that the diplomat asked a Fulbright scholar and Peace Corps volunteers to "spy" on Cubans and Venezuelans in Bolivia. Bolivian President Evo Morales today called on the armed forces to safeguard Bolivia's sovereignty against "espionage attempts" by the U.S. government. On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez referred specifically to the allegations made by Fulbright scholar Alexander van Schaick. "The United States had to admit to espionage," the fiery Socialist leader stated in Caracas.  Read more.

New search for Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III

New search for Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III
The U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Dover, Del., is examining bones and clothing discovered last month during the most extensive search yet for Lowell Peace Corps volunteer Walter Poirier III. The Peace Corps hasn't ruled out the possibility the bones are Poirier's, but others are doubtful. The six-year-old probe into Poirier's disappearance appeared stalled until the Peace Corps reinvigorated its search efforts and sent an advance team to Bolivia early this year to prepare for last month's expedition. Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a former Peace Corps volunteer, stepped in to ensure cooperation from the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia, which had had a strained relationship with the Peace Corps earlier in the investigation. Then, last month, Peace Corps Inspector General David Kotz led a 27-person expedition, including four members of his staff, eight search and rescue specialists from the U.S. National Park Service, two FBI agents and four handlers with cadaver-sniffing dogs.

Investigators believe Poirier attended a community meeting in the small village of Coscapa, about 11,500 feet above sea level, on Feb. 3, 2001. Then, against the advice of villagers, Poirier left in a heavy rainstorm headed toward the village of Liaullini, where there was a schoolhouse in which he kept a sleeping bag. There are numerous hydroelectric plants in the region and Poirier followed an aqueduct trail fed by drainage that would have had significant run-off about the time he was hiking it, according to a narrative prepared by the park service. The search team worked through extreme conditions in terrain so steep at points that members were forced to rappel alongside waterfalls and use machetes to cut through the underbrush. Despite the bones that searchers discovered, it's now believed Poirier's remains are buried under debris flows or were washed out of the search area, according to the park service.

Walter Poirier accepts that it was probably already too late to save his son by the time his wife Sheila Poirier contacted the Peace Corps to report him missing in March 4, 2001, but the immediate response by government officials afterward has been harder to stomach. The General Accounting Office, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, placed blame for Poirier's disappearance on the Peace Corps, faulting it for not knowing he was missing until his mother reported she had lost contact. The GAO found that volunteers such as Poirier were often put in unfamiliar and dangerous countries with little or no direction or protection. There were various leads into his disappearance, but there have been questions over whether the Peace Corps investigator pursued them vigorously. One lead indicated Poirier may have been killed over a debt . A second reported he'd been buried in a mountain pass. Under pressure from Massachusetts' federal legislators, the Peace Corps hired an independent investigator in June 2004, but that didn't appear to help the investigation.  Read more.

Read more about Walter Poirier III.

Sixth Anniversary of the Disappearance of Bolivia PCV Walter Poirier

Family says it has been a constant battle to insure that Missing PCV Walter Poirier III is not forgotten by the Peace Corps
It has been exactly 6 years today since my son was declared "officially" missing by Peace Corps. Since then it has been a constant battle to insure that he is not forgotten by Peace Corps. Very little communication has been coming out of Peace Corps since the House hearing on Volunteer safety in 2004. It took some arm twisting by the Massachusetts senate delegation and our 5th District congressman to even get Peace Corps to keep Walter on the active list. As of this year, there has been no communication from the new Director regarding our son's status. Come to think of it, there has been no communication from him at all. The Poirier family is still hoping against hope that Walter will be found, but there is little if anything being done by Peace Corps it seems at this time.  Signed Walter Poirier

Statement of the Peace Corps on the Current Status of the Investigation
The Peace Corps Office of Inspector General (OIG) is currently analyzing past investigative/search activities to determine what, if any, further efforts can be undertaken with respect to Walter’s Poirier’s disappearance. We will advise the Poirier family of any new activities shortly. The OIG considers this matter to be an open and active case and we continue to coordinate with our Bolivian counter-parts and pertinent factions of the U.S. law enforcement community to follow-up on all actionable information.

From 2005: Probe botched, say family of Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier lost in Bolivia
Mr. Poirier joined the Peace Corps shortly after graduating from Notre Dame University in 2000 and had been in Bolivia for about six months when he was declared missing. An extensive search was carried out soon by U.S. and Bolivian authorities in the Zongo Valley, near the room where he stayed and at places he frequented. In addition, a publicity campaign was conducted on Bolivian radio and television, and in newspapers. At the insistence of the Poiriers, the Peace Corps recently boosted to $50,000 the reward for information leading to the recovery of their son's body. The family is contributing half the amount.

But U.S. authorities said they have gotten nowhere. "The effort to obtain additional information on the disappearance of Walter Poirier has been extremely frustrating," the U.S. Embassy said. "Despite a number of apparently promising leads, every trail thus far has been unproductive." In June, under pressure from Mr. Meehan and Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry, the Peace Corps agreed to hire a full-time investigator. The unidentified investigator began work in September and was given six weeks to do an in-country assessment, said a Bolivian private investigator hired to assist him. The Bolivian investigator said they had not identified any solid leads, nor finished reading the mounds of paperwork given to them to review when the Peace Corps investigator left Bolivia in mid-November.

Raising hope for a break in the case, a formal criminal complaint was filed with La Paz police in August against two persons in connection with the volunteer's disappearance. In the complaint, which obliges La Paz police to investigate, Ramiro Machaca, 22, an Aymara Indian, said he was kidnapped May 23 and held for six days in a Zongo Valley river tunnel near the Wahi electric plant. Mr. Machaca, who worked at the plant, said he was kidnapped because in February, while cleaning the machines at the plant one evening, he had overheard two other employees discussing Mr. Poirier. Mr. Machaca said they were celebrating and drinking alcohol. "One of them made a toast to 'el chango' Walter Poirier," Mr. Machaca said, using slang for "the kid." "Then, they began talking about what they did with his body," he said, adding that the two mentioned it was buried in the mountains below Zongo Pass.

Several witnesses have corroborated to La Paz police the kidnapping of Mr. Machaca. A medical report from Agramont Hospital in El Alto, near La Paz, said he was brought there May 30 in a "metabolic coma." A doctor wrote that Mr. Machaca also bore head injuries, with signs of strangulation and lack of oxygen to the brain. But formal criminal charges have not been filed. La Paz District Attorney Audalia Zurita said the authorities need more evidence. She said last month that she last communicated with the U.S. Embassy about the Poirier case in late September. She said her office wants to conduct a monthlong search for Mr. Poirier's body in the areas of Zongo identified by witnesses who have come forward in connection with the Machaca case, but the U.S. Embassy wants a more precise location before it hires specialists and equipment.

"I still believe the information we have on the possible whereabouts of Poirier is credible, but I need help convincing the U.S. Embassy," Mrs. Zurita said. But others say Bolivian authorities share much of the blame for the failed investigation into Mr. Poirier's disappearance. His parents also think more can be done. "We are perplexed as to why the embassy and Peace Corps have not embraced this lead," they said. "The Poirier family feels that, from the beginning, the Peace Corps was inept and unprepared to handle our son's disappearance - they simply did not know what to do."

Caption: The Mountains near Zongo Pass in Bolivia where Ramiro Machaca alleges the body of Walter Poirier may be buried. Photo:  scropy Flickr Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Read more about the disappearance of Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III.

RPCVs - Believe it or Not

RPCV living in Oregon refuses to heat his house
Guatemala RPCV Dave Kaplowe and his roomate Stuart McDougall try to use as few resources as possible, such as keeping the heat off in their Portland Oregon house. Girlfriends Andrea Walter and Katy Daily do their best to humor them.

“We’re not burning fossil fuels,” Kaplowe says, “and we’re very efficient thermoregulators.” McDougall laughs at this. He’s wearing a T-shirt and is barefoot on the hardwood floor. “The no-heat thing started in college when we didn’t have the money for it and then realized we didn’t need it anyway,” Kaplowe says. The household heating bill from NW Natural arrived Nov. 1. The total due was $6.54. The men are so pleased they present a hard copy while Daily rolls her eyes. The women may wish for warmer digs, but Kaplowe says there can be no compromise.

Kaplowe manages fish and wildlife mitigation projects with the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland. The University of Oregon graduate was drawn to the BPA after serving nearly four years with the Peace Corps in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. While in the Peace Corps he helped rural communities, nongovernmental organizations and trinational government organizations adopt sustainable forestry and watershed management practices. Instead of working on watershed management in three Central American countries, he now works with very similar issues in the four states that make up the Columbia Basin — Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. “I believe hydroelectric power is a renewable resource and a great alternative to the burning of fossil fuels or nuclear-derived power,” Kaplowe says. “The BPA demonstrates environmental stewardship and public responsibility.”

Bolivia RPCV plays Mozart concerto on a garden hose
Howard Pink learned of the unique musical instrument while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia in the late 1960s. At that time, he found a recording of noted horn player Dennis Brain playing a piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father, Leopold Mozart, on a garden hose. "A garden hose is nothing more that a French horn played in the technique used in Mozart's time when they didn't have valves. I thought it was a really good idea," he said. At that point, he ran out and bought a standard variety garden hose in a market and went on tour. He soon reached some level of regional acclaim on a South American television show — similar to The Ed Sullivan Show — as "the man who played the hose."

Pink was a French horn player for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for more than 25 years, where he continued his garden hose show for local school groups and libraries. His program, "Howard Pink and His Musical Garden Hoses," isn't just entertaining, it's also educational. Pink goes into the history of wind instruments and hopes to instill a love of music, if not creativity, with the younger members of the audience. "By the time I'm done, you should have a good idea of what it takes to play not only the French horn but members of the entire brass family. But if nothing else, I hope they learn to appreciate music and want to become a member of an audience. Maybe go to a symphony concert sometime," he said.

Costa Rica RPCV sells Coconut water imported from Brazil
Mark Rampolla decided to sell coconut water, imported from Brazil and marketed as a high-potassium, sugar-free alternative to Gatorade and other sugary sports drinks. The product, Zico, is now sold for $2 per 11-ounce container in yoga studios, health food stores (including Whole Foods) and other outlets.

Because the Rampollas want to support economic development in Latin America, Zico is produced and packaged in Brazil. That creates factory jobs, not just the agricultural work of harvesting the young coconuts. The company has also pledged to give 5 percent of its net profits to improve health and education in the communities where the product is produced. The marketing budget is small, so the approach is "grassroots and guerrilla" - no advertising, but a lot of free samples at health stores and athletic events. There have been anxieties and some scary moments, as in any new business. Soon after Zico got started, a paperwork problem with U.S. Customs halted shipment of the product from Brazil, a mess that took two months to untangle. And living without a reliable corporate paycheck has required some adjustments by the Rampollas, who have two young daughters. But the company is growing, and Rampolla hopes to hire five people, mostly in sales, in 2007.

Having lived as both a poor Peace Corps volunteer and an affluent executive in the Third World, Rampolla has a different perspective on business ups and downs. "We always know if things really go south, we'll wind up on a beach in South America, and as long as I have my wife and kids, I'll be happy," Rampolla says. "I just really enjoy everything that's involved in trying to make this happen."

Peace Corps Volunteers in Bolivia Are Safe

Peace Corps Volunteers in Bolivia Are Safe
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter announced that all Volunteers serving in Bolivia are safe and are returning to their working and living sites. Several Volunteers were consolidated last week following recent political events in the country. The Peace Corps staff in Bolivia remains in constant communication with Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. Each Peace Corps program has an Emergency Action Plan specific to that country and developed in cooperation with Peace Corps Washington and the local U.S. Embassy. The plans are evaluated and tested frequently and information is updated constantly. Volunteers are thoroughly trained in their roles and responsibilities, and posts are prepared for all emergencies.  Read more.

PCVs were caught in street protest in Bolivia, Peace Corps withdrew volunteers from a violent neighborhood near the capital

Caption: Demonstrators attend a rally in Santa Cruz December 15, 2006. Leaders in the eastern Santa Cruz region said they expected 1 million people to take to the streets of its main city, Santa Cruz, to press demands for greater autonomy from the central government and more control of local taxes but they denied wanting to create a breakaway state. Photo: Reuters/Stringer (Bolivia)

An attack by a pro-government mob on a bus carrying an American Peace Corps worker has prompted the U.S. agency to temporarily withdraw from a violent neighborhood near the capital. "The Peace Corps has pulled out its contingent of about a dozen volunteers from the area. We expect to go back when the situation calms down," said Payne Huffman, 33, of Lexington, Ky. Mr. Huffman survived an attack last weekend by rock-throwing supporters of President Evo Morales, who were attempting to block anti-government protesters from reaching the capital, Santa Cruz.  "We lay for almost two hours between the seats as rocks crashed through the windows and pelted the roof above us," said Mr. Huffman, who was traveling by bus with his girlfriend, Mariela Ruiz, and her 2-year-old daughter when the assault took place in the town of San Julian. Read more.