Bolivia

Bolivia (officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia) is a landlocked country that resides in South America, and part of the Andean states, which are nations with high native Inca influences that share the Andean mountains. Current President is Luis Arce.

Overview[]

The Bolivian population, estimated at 10 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians, and Africans. the main language spoken is Spanish, but 80% of the population has Aymara or Quechua origins. Despite a history of harsh Spanish colonization, the Andean culture remains strong and the ancient Quechua and Aymara traditions and rituals are still practiced.

In 2019, the country was classified as a Narco-State due to the Bolivian government turning a blind eye towards drug cartels. When the Santa Blanca Drug Cartel bombed the U.S. Embassy, and kidnapped, tortured and executed undercover DEA agent Ricky Sandoval, they were changed from simple narco-traffickers to narco-terrorists. Thus, the U.S. Army decided to kick off Operation Kingslayer, sending in a team of Ghosts consisting of Ghost Leader "Nomad", Tactical Gunner "Midas", Combat Engineer "Holt", Sniper "Weaver", and Karen Bowman as their handler, to eliminate the Cartel and reveal the connection between the Santa Blanca and the Bolivian government.

Bolivia contains many vast provinces with various environments, such as the burnt forests of La Cruz, swamplands of Caimanes, and snow-capped mountains of Inca Camina. These provinces are filled with drug cartels, Unidad, and Kataris 26 Rebels alike, all fighting for a cause. Unidad and Cartels can be frequently seen making trades of supplies and can be disrupted to make them open fire upon each other. Rebels can be found in rebel outposts, driving the streets of Bolivia, and even imprisoned in Santa Blanca controlled towns and outposts, along with Unidad F.O.B.'s.

On 3rd of March 2024, during Operation: Nimble Guardian, Hunter team went to the country's capital Sucre to get Gabriel Paez who might have intel on the dirty bomb ambush that killed every operator of Predator team inside Nicaragua.

Resources and Economy[]

The main activities include agriculture (quinoa, potatoes, rice, coffee, coca) and forestry, mining (silver, lithium, gas), manufacturing goods such as textiles and clothing, or refining metals and petroleum.

Coca Leaf in Bolivia[]

The traditional use of coca leaves is 5000 years old in Bolivia. In Bolivia, bags of it are sold in local markets and by street vendors. Most people chew coca. The cultivation and consumption of coca is part of the national culture like wine is for France or beer for Germany.Bolivia is the world's third largest producer of coca leaves, an essential component in the production of cocaine.

It's also a powerful symbol of cultural and religious identity among the indigenous nations of South America. The coca leaf plays a major role in Andean medicine. Traditionally, coca is used as a stimulant to overcome fatigue, hunger, and thirst, and it's particularly effective against altitude sickness. It is also used as an anesthetic and analgesic for headaches, rheumatism, wounds, and sores. The high calcium content also explains why people used coca for bone fractures. It also serves to suppress bleeding, and as a treatment for malaria, ulcers, asthma, and indigestion.

Legends[]

Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid[]

Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy) was a notorious Wild West gangster, whose partner in crime was Harry Longabaugh (The Sundance Kid). In 1901 they fled to Argentina with Butch's lover, Etta Place, who deserted them a few years after. Cassidy is rumored to have worked as a miner in Bolivia and returned to his criminal habits in 1908 when he robbed a silver mine payroll convoy. After a standoff with law enforcement in the village of San Vincente, Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid may have met their fate, but other legends claim they survived long after.

Klaus Barbie[]

Near the legendary Death Road in the Yungas region of Bolivia, is the house where Klaus Barbie, the former Nazi SS-Hauptsturmführer, Gestapo member and war criminal, was sheltered for about forty years. He was supported by the CIA and protected by Bolivian president Hugo Banzer. After a violent coup d'état, Barbie directed a far-right paramilitary organization for a while: the Fiancés of Death.

Che Guevara[]

In 1966, Che Guevara departed Cuba for Bolivia, having shaved and adopted a false identity, to lead a guerrilla at the head of the National Liberation Army of Bolivia. El Che expected to face a poorly trained and ill-equipped enemy, but the Bolivians had help from U.S. Special Forces, and Guevara failed to get help from the local dissidents. After months of battle, he was soundly defeated. Guevara was captured and executed under the authority of Bolivian president René Barrientos. His body was photographed and identified in Vallegrande, where he was buried before his remains were exhumed in 1997 and placed in a Cuban mausoleum.

El Tio[]

El Tio, (the Uncle) is a Bolivian god of the Underworld, famous in the Cerro Rico region. It is customary to offer coca, alcohol, and cigarettes to ceremonial statues of El Tio, near and inside the Potosi mine. Potosi was a wealthy city during the Spanish occupation, thanks to the enormous quantities of mined silver. It is said that the silver extracted from Potosi mines could build a bridge across the Atlantic to the Iberian Peninsula, and the same is true for the bones of the miners who died there. After 1800, silver was scarce, and the city began its economic decline. Today, though the mines are said to be depleted, they are still operated by locals, granting very poor conditions to the miners.

The Chaco War[]

Fought between Bolivia and Paraguay, the Chaco War was the bloodiest conflict that took place in Latin America in the 20th century. From 1932 to 1935, both countries fought for the control of the Chaco, an unexplored and wild territory in Southeastern Bolivia. Nearly 100,000 men died, many of them from thirst and disease, due to the hostile conditions of the region. Bolivia's defeat inflicted a national trauma that led to major political and social changes in the country during the following decades. The game incorrectly states the Chaco War was the last international conflict in Latin America, ignoring the wars between Peru and Ecuador in 1941, 1981 and 1995, the Falklands War (1982) and the Football War (1969).

Trivia[]

The regions of Bolivia depicted in Ghost Recon Wildlands are completely fictional, even with some of them having real historical features and hotspots.