Top Bolivian and U.S. officials sought to heal their nations’ strained relations Thursday in their first meeting since a raucous protest outside the American embassy sent the U.S. ambassador back to Washington for security consultations.

Bolivian officials said Friday they have arrested two men who may have planned to kill President Evo Morales. But a local prosecutor quickly released them.

Bolivian President Evo Morales is stepping down as leader of the powerful coca growers’ union that launched his political career.

Rising global prices for Bolivia’s natural gas and minerals are pushing the country’s foreign exports to record levels.

President Evo Morales committed himself and Bolivia’s nine governors on Monday to face recall votes on Aug. 10, gambling that his unfinished term will a survive a referendum whose peculiar rules tilt in the populist leader’s favor.

President Evo Morales has approved an Aug. 10 recall election for himself and Bolivia’s nine governors, gambling that voters will re-elect him just two years into his five-year term.

President Evo Morales agreed Thursday to stand for election in a nationwide recall vote, gambling that Bolivians will re-elect him after just two years in office.

Bolivian President Evo Morales insists a broad autonomy declaration by the country’s largest and richest state is “illegal,” “anti-constitutional,” and “dictatorial.”

President Evo Morales said Friday that a political battle over demands for autonomy by Bolivia’s largest state should be resolved by a nationwide referendum.