US Replaces Its Top Diplomat in Bolivia Again as Ambassador Swap Stalls
BOLIVIA · DIPLOMACY
Key Facts
- —The country Bolivia is a landlocked Andean nation of about 12.4 million people, roughly the population of Ohio. Its output per person, about US$4,400 in 2024, is around one-twentieth of the US level.
- —Why it matters Bolivia expelled the US ambassador in 2008. Since then each embassy has been run by a stand-in envoy called a chargé d’affaires, not an ambassador.
- —Why now President Rodrigo Paz, in office since November 2025, has made Washington a priority. Both governments promised to restore ambassadors, and Bolivian officials said it would happen in 2026.
- —What happened On Saturday 26 September the embassy in La Paz said Amanda Porter, its minister-counselor, now leads the mission. She replaces Erik Martini, who took over in June.
- —Who is involved Porter is a career US diplomat with more than 20 years of postings, most recently deputy chief of mission in Cabo Verde. She speaks Spanish, French and Portuguese.
- —What it means for you No change to visas or consular services was announced. The embassy says its support for Bolivia’s economy, anti-corruption work and security cooperation continues.
- —Still open When Washington will nominate a full ambassador. A nominee needs US Senate approval, and one Bolivian analyst expects no exchange before the US midterm elections in November.
The United States has a new diplomat in charge of the US embassy in Bolivia, its third chief this year. Amanda Porter, a career officer already serving in La Paz, took over on Saturday 26 September as chargé d’affaires.
The title matters because it is not “ambassador.” Washington and La Paz agreed last November to restore full ambassador-level ties, cut since 2008, yet neither side has sent one.
Who Amanda Porter is
Until now Porter was minister-counselor, a senior post just below the head of mission at the embassy in La Paz. She belongs to the US Foreign Service, the career corps of American diplomats.
She has more than 20 years of experience in Africa, Europe, South America and the United States. Before Bolivia she was deputy chief of mission, the number-two job, in Cabo Verde, an island nation off West Africa.
Earlier she held political, economic and consular jobs in Uruguay, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Colombia and Portugal. At home she taught negotiation, helped train new diplomats and worked on security policy toward Nigeria.
Her official profile lists degrees in Spanish and zoology from Washington State University. She also holds master’s degrees from George Washington University, in public health, and the National Defense University, in resource strategy.
What the embassy said
The embassy announced the change in a Spanish-language post on X. It thanked Martini for leading the mission “during this period of transition in leadership.”
It said it welcomed Porter taking “the top post now.” She will keep supporting Bolivia’s government in strengthening the economy, fighting corruption and defending against transnational threats, the embassy added.
“Transnational threats” is the diplomatic term for cross-border crime such as drug trafficking and organised gangs.
Porter has already been visible in that role. This month she spoke at a multinational workshop in Bolivia on crowd control and crisis management. No nation can face these threats alone, she said.
Three chiefs in one year
Debra Hevia led the embassy as chargé d’affaires for almost three years and left in June. Erik Martini took over then and has now handed on after roughly three months.
Fernando Torres of the Bolivian Foreign Policy Observatory (Opexbol) told the Tarija newspaper El País that US representation has lacked continuity since 2008. Martini’s short stint showed that again, he said.
No source has linked the latest change to any dispute. Porter moves up from inside the same embassy, so the mission keeps its working contacts with the government.
Why there has been no US ambassador since 2008
In 2008 then-president Evo Morales expelled the US ambassador, Philip Goldberg, accusing him of conspiracy. Goldberg denied the charge.
For 17 years afterwards both countries kept their embassies open, but each was led by a chargé d’affaires. Relations stayed at that lower level under every Bolivian government until last year.
The gap is more than symbolic. An ambassador is the personal representative of a head of state, while a chargé formally ranks lower.
The Paz reset with Washington
Rodrigo Paz was sworn in on 8 November 2025. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau attended the ceremony in La Paz.
There Landau said ties would return to ambassador level, “as it always should be.” He called the long absence of ambassadors “very unusual” and “very sad.”
In July the then foreign minister, Fernando Aramayo, said the exchange was a commitment that “will not go past 2026.” El País reported on Sunday that it has still not happened.
The political side has moved faster. On Monday 21 September Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Paz in New York, during the United Nations General Assembly.
Rubio called the relationship key to Bolivia’s hopes of International Monetary Fund (IMF) support and fuel, mining and energy reform. Bolivia had just enacted the law approving a US$1.9 billion IMF loan, which still needs the IMF board’s final approval.
Paz said they also discussed the El Niño weather pattern, drug trafficking and support for Bolivia’s police and armed forces. For the wider picture, see Bolivia Explained: The Paz Government, the Fuel Crisis and What to Watch.
What comes next
The next real step would be a nomination. A US ambassador must be named by the president and confirmed by the Senate, which Torres noted can take a long time.
Torres said the exchange is still possible but may come after the US midterm elections on Tuesday 3 November. Bolivia would also have to send its own ambassador to Washington.
What the change does not mean is just as important. Porter’s appointment is not the promised ambassador exchange, and it signals no shift in US policy toward Bolivia.
She holds the same title her predecessors have held since 2008. For residents, travellers and investors, the US embassy in Bolivia described the move as continuity with its existing economic and security agenda.
More: Bolivia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a chargé d’affaires?
A diplomat who runs an embassy when there is no ambassador. The post needs no Senate confirmation and carries a lower formal rank than an ambassador.
Why has there been no US ambassador in Bolivia since 2008?
President Evo Morales expelled Ambassador Philip Goldberg in 2008, accusing him of conspiracy, which Goldberg denied. Both countries have been represented by chargés d’affaires ever since.
Will the United States and Bolivia exchange ambassadors?
Both governments say they will, and Bolivian officials promised it for 2026. No exchange has taken place yet, and one Bolivian analyst expects it only after the US midterm elections.
Who did Amanda Porter replace?
Erik Martini, who had led the embassy since June 2026 after Debra Hevia left. Porter had been the embassy’s minister-counselor.
Sources: US Embassy La Paz statement on X, 26 September 2026, as reported by ABI (Bolivian state news agency), Correo del Sur and Opinión; El País (Tarija), 27 September 2026; eju.tv, 2 July 2026; CNN en Español/EFE, 8 November 2025; Infobae, 22 September 2026; World Bank, World Development Indicators (2024 population and GDP per person).
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