Milei sent army planes to Bolivia: humanitarian aid or military interference?

The Argentine government confirmed the dispatch of Hercules aircraft to Bolivia amid the most serious political crisis the neighboring country is experiencing, sparking a controversy that has divided the region: while Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno framed it as a gesture of solidarity, former President Evo Morales and Congressman Juan Grabois accused Javier Milei's government of militarily intervening in an internal conflict to support a government that, they claim, represses the Bolivian people.

The government justified the operation as "humanitarian aid".

Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno confirmed the dispatch of a Hercules aircraft to Bolivia amid the crisis gripping the government of President Rodrigo Paz Pereira , besieged by massive protests from farmers, miners, teachers, and rural sectors demanding his resignation. "Argentina has contributed a Hercules aircraft to transport food supplies—Bolivian food—to bypass the blockades erected by those who sympathize with Evo Morales," Quirno stated in an interview with Eduardo Feinmann on Radio Mitre.

Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo also participated in the radio conversation and publicly expressed his gratitude for the support: "I ask Foreign Minister Quirno to convey the Bolivian people's thanks to President Milei, because in times of tension like these, Argentina's provision of Hercules aircraft for the transport of food and humanitarian aid demonstrates this level of alignment and solidarity," Aramayo stated.

Quirno also confirmed the existence of "a very consolidated group of countries that think similarly" that supports the Bolivian government, made up of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.

Morales: "They have transported police and military personnel on those planes."

The Argentine government's version of events clashed head-on with the accusations of former Bolivian President Evo Morales , a fugitive from justice in his country, who accused Milei of going far beyond humanitarian aid. "They transported police officers on planes sent by Milei. Military personnel too, to Santa Cruz, to Potosí. The police had no equipment to combat the protests and arrived from Argentina, on Hercules aircraft sent by Milei," Morales asserted in statements to Radio 10.

The former Bolivian president maintained that President Paz himself had acknowledged the operation: "President Rodríguez himself acknowledges it, 'Thank you, Milei, for sending planes for humanitarian reasons,' he says," Morales pointed out, adding that there is "information and photographs that prove that these Hercules aircraft unloaded boxes with riot control materials, but these planes are mainly used to move military troops and police towards the seat of government."

Morales also denounced the existence of an alleged "Operation Condor 2026 ," which he claimed was being promoted by Donald Trump and implemented by right-wing governments in the region, including Milei's. In this context, he described the situation in Bolivia as "a popular uprising" to defend the Constitution, natural resources, and basic services.

Grabois: "We already saw this movie in 2019"

From Argentina, Congressman Juan Grabois harshly criticized the national government on social media, drawing a direct parallel with the arms shipments sent by Mauricio Macri 's government during the 2019 Bolivian crisis. "Milei is starving the Argentine people, but he sends military planes to support a government that represses the Bolivian people and calls it 'humanitarian aid,'" the legislator wrote.

Grabois was emphatic in linking the two episodes: "We already saw this movie when the Macri government sent weapons for the 2019 coup." The congressman also expressed his solidarity with the former Bolivian president: "Solidarity with the Bolivian people and with our brother Evo Morales. The Greater Homeland will not surrender."

Bolivia in crisis: more than 100 arrested and roadblocks in six provinces

Bolivia is experiencing one of its most serious crises since Rodrigo Paz Pereira took office. The protests, which escalated significantly in early May 2026, have brought together miners, teachers, farmers, transport workers, and sectors aligned with Morales, who remains a fugitive with an arrest warrant issued against him on charges of child trafficking.

The riots on Monday, May 19, resulted in over 100 arrests, police vehicles set ablaze, damage to public offices and businesses, and attacks on civilians and officers. On May 14, miners detonated dynamite near the presidential palace, and a group attempted to force their way inside. The tension also spread to the city of El Alto , with road blockades in six of Bolivia's nine departments causing severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.

Despite the escalating unrest, the Bolivian government ruled out declaring a state of emergency on Tuesday. Minister of Government Marco Antonio Oviedo was categorical: "There is no possibility of a state of emergency. We are not going to declare it," although he warned that "tough and strict" measures would be applied against those responsible for the disturbances, attributed to groups from Chapare , Morales's political stronghold in the department of Cochabamba. Presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez justified the refusal by stating that a state of emergency could "aggravate the situation" by giving ammunition to the protesters.

The precedent of 2019 and the debate on regional sovereignty

The controversy surrounding Operation Hercules is not new in Argentine foreign policy. In November 2019, during Macri's administration, Argentina sent riot control munitions to Bolivia in the context of the crisis that ended with Evo Morales' resignation from the presidency, an episode that Alberto Fernández 's government later described as inappropriate and which led to judicial investigations. The parallel drawn by Grabois raises a question that the ruling party does not answer: if in 2019 the shipment of equipment was questioned as interference in an internal matter, what changes today in the political and ideological framework, beyond who receives the support?

What is verifiable is that the Milei government took an active stance in the Bolivian conflict, confirmed the operation, and framed it within a regional alliance with governments of similar ideological orientation. This humanitarian narrative clashes with Morales's accusations regarding the content and true purpose of the flights, claims which, according to the former Bolivian president, are supported by photographic documentation that has not yet been independently verified.