Bolivian Naval Force

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bolivian Naval Force, formerly Bolivian Navy (in Spanish, Armada Boliviana) does exist, though the country has been landlocked since 1879. Bolivia has large rivers that are tributaries to the Amazon which are patrolled to prevent smuggling and drug trafficking. There is also a Bolivian Naval presence on Lake Titicaca, the highest (altitude wise) navigable lake in the world.

As of 1989 Navy personnel numbered 3800, which included 2000 naval infantry and marines. The Navy is organized into five naval districts, with flotilla headquarters in Guaqui, Puerto Guayamerin, Puerto Suarez, Riberalta, and San Pedro de Tiquina, and bases in Puerto Busch, Puerto Horquilla, Puerto Villarroel, Trinidad, and Rurrenabaque. Naval vessels included several dozen boats, some dozen or more of which are for riverine patrol, including the 20-m Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and one seagoing vessel, the Libertador Simón Bolívar (a ship acquired from Venezuela, where it was named Barquisimeto), whose home port is actually Rosario, Argentina on the River Paraná. In 1993, the Navy was formally renamed to Naval Force (Fuerza Naval) and moved with the Army under a single military authority.

The Bolivian Navy takes part in many parades and government functions, but none more so than the Dia Del Mar (day of the sea) in which Bolivia, each year, asks for the coast taken from them by Chile in the War of the Pacific (fought between Peru, Bolivia and Chile), 1879 to 1884. This is still a sore point for Bolivia, influencing many modern day political actions and trade decisions.