Mystery Putsch

From two miles up in the Andes last weekend came word of a Putsch that failed. In La Paz, Bolivia's President General Enrique Penaranda suddenly announced that his country was in a state of siege after the discovery of plans for a Nazi-led revolution.

Just what the plot was General Penaranda did not care to say, but it seemed a good bet that it had something to do with a man who was supposed to be 6,000 miles away, a fire-eating, 36-year-old aviator, Major Elias Belmonte, Bolivia's Air Attache in Berlin.

In 1937 Belmonte held Dictator David Toro at the point of a pistol until Toro resigned in favor of Lieut. Colonel German Busch. Rewarded by being made Chief of Police, then Minister of the Interior, Tough Guy Belmonte at length grew too tough for his boss, was sent away to Berlin.

Trained, like most of Bolivia's officers, by Germans, Belmonte admired what he saw in Germany. Since then, according to open rumors in La Paz, he has spent much of his time writing glowing letters about the Nazi system, getting himself talked about as a logical Fuehrer for Bolivia.

With plenty of troubles of her own, Bolivia has been a favorite field for Nazi intrigue. Since most of her food is imported, there is a chronic food shortage, a steadily rising cost of living. And, partly as a legacy from her dictator regimes, her political scene is a labyrinth of splinter parties.

In these troubled waters the Nazis have fished lovingly. Well-heeled and well-organized, Germans in Bolivia have plugged their cause openly, have dominated radio stations and many newspapers. Into the Nazi camp they have tried to lure many Bolivian bigwigs.

Elected President in March, General Penaranda, no politician, has done his best to steer his brawling country toward democracy and an amiable relationship with the U.S. His biggest coup to date was to negotiate a contract with the U.S. for Bolivia's full output of tungsten, despite the fact that Japan at first made a higher bid.

Six weeks ago President Penaranda's Cabinet suddenly sent him a circular telegram warning of unspecified Nazi plottings, resigned in a body to give him a free hand in dealing with them. This week it looked as though he had made good use of his opportunity. Whether the Nazi plot was led by Belmonte or others, the President had moved fast and drastically. His score to date: four newspapers shuttered, German Minister Ernst Wendler given his walking papers, an unspecified number of Bolivians arrested, including Victor Paz Estenssoro, who until five weeks ago was Finance Minister in his Cabinet.

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