Morales' present for Rice has a 'Green' message
'Green' as in coca leaves, that is. Will she be
allowed to bring her present in past Homeland Insecurity?
Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images
Condoleezza Rice knew coca would top the agenda in her meeting with Bolivia’s new president, but she likely wasn’t expecting to get the real thing. At the end of their 25-minute meeting, President Evo Morales presented the U.S. secretary of state with an Andean guitar that bore a coca-leaf inlay.
“The gift was well received. We will just have to check with our customs to see what rules apply. We certainly hope we can bring it back (to Washington),” said a senior State Department official who attended the meeting.
Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, came to prominence as a leader of coca farmers who want more freedom to grow coca, which is the main ingredient in cocaine but is also used legally for traditional medicines and in teas.
The charango is as easy as any double-string guitar to play; though, I have to admit I’ve never seen one with laminated coca leaves.
Posted: Mon - March 13, 2006 at 06:30 AM