Armed Forces of Bolivia
The Bolivian Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia) are the military of Bolivia. The Armed Forces of Bolivia are responsible for the defence, both of external and internal, of Bolivia and they are constituted by Bolivian Army, the Bolivian Air Force and the Bolivian Navy. All these institutions depend on the Ministry of Defence of this country.
Armed Forces of Bolivia
Subordinacion y Constancia, ¡Viva Bolivia! (Subordination and Steadfastness. Long Live Bolivia!)
7 August 1826
César Moisés Vallejos Rocha
18
1,949,267, age 15–49 (2000 est.)
1,269,228, age 15–49 (2000 est.)
86,863 (2000 est.)
40.000 to 70.000 (est.)
40.000 (est.)
$659.2 million (2017)
1.76% (2017)
Argentina
Austria
Brazil
China
Mexico
North Korea
Peru
Russia
Turkey
United States
Venezuela
Iran
In addition to the Bolivian Army, the Bolivian Air Force and the Bolivian Navy, the Bolivian National Police, although dependent on the Ministry of Government in times of peace, is part of the reserves of the Armed Forces according to the Organic Law of the Armed Forces of this nation,[1] together with other reserve bodies such as the SAR-FAB emergency and rescue units.
Figures on the size and composition of the armed forces of Bolivia vary considerably, with rare official data available. It is estimated, however, that the three main forces (army, navy and air force) add up to a total of between 40,000[2] to 70,000[3][4][5] troops, while the Bolivian police would be around 40,000[6][7] troops. On 26 June 2024, General Zúñiga was arrested in a coup attempt.[8]
Conscription[edit]
Since 1904 military service has been compulsory for all fit males between the ages of eighteen and forty-nine. In practice, however, budgetary limitations strictly limited the number of eligible men conscripted, and those traditionally tended to be mostly Indians. Beginning in 1967, conscripts were legally held on active duty for up to two years, but funds seldom permitted even a full year's service. Noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and warrant officers, all of whom were volunteers, generally were drawn from mixed-blood cholos (those of Spanish and Indian descent). In the late 1980s, the service obligation was one year, and conscripts had to be at least nineteen years of age. The FF.AA. commander reported in early 1989 that the largest percentage of conscripts came from the middle class. One explanation for this change could have been the flocking of youths to the lucrative coca paste-making business. Military authorities in the Cochabamba area in particular began to experience growing difficulty in enlisting volunteers in the mid-1980s. Consequently, the military reportedly was resorting to pressganging eighteen-year-olds off the city streets to fill their annual quotas.
Training installations[edit]
Training installations include the Garras International Antinarcotics Training School (Escuela Garras del Valor) is a military training facility located in Bolivia, which trains military and law enforcement personnel from Bolivia and other Latin American countries in counternarcotics, intelligence, and counterinsurgency techniques.[45][46][47]