If you talk about the Bolivian Navy, then you will be suspected of either problems with geography, or problems with your head in general. However, oddly enough, the Navy of Bolivia, a landlocked country in principle, not only exists, but even brought the number of sailors to 5,000 people. This is probably one of the most powerful fleets among the countries that do not have access to the sea surface. And the very original name of the Navy of Bolivia for the Russian ear is perceived as something grandiose - Armada Boliviana.
Stolen dream of the sea
In fact, behind the pretentious "Armada Boliviana" is an age-old complex of land loss. Until 1883, Bolivia not only had access to the Pacific Ocean, but also operated several ports on the 400-kilometer coastline. Bolivia's oceanic dreams were ended by the Second Pacific War, also known as the Saltpeter War, as the conflict broke out solely on the basis of the struggle for the right to extract natural resources, in this case, saltpeter.
Bolivia, united with neighboring Peru, opposed Chile. As a result, Bolivia lost the war, losing large southwestern territories simultaneously with access to the ocean. The defeat was so painful for the country's navy that a lone star still flaunts on the flag of the Bolivian fleet in the lower right corner, symbolizing the memory of the Bolivians about the lost territory and the vastness of the ocean.
Another reminder of the phantom pain of the lost territory is the state holiday of a country without open spaces of the sea - Sea Day, celebrated every year on March 23rd. On this day, of course, the fleet also takes part in the celebrations. For the most part, this is a sad day for Bolivians, because, as you know, countries that do not have serious international influence often have huge ambitions. Even schoolchildren take part in the Sea Day parade, in which from childhood they bring up the spirit of revanchism and return to the Pacific coast.
The beginning of a new "fleet"
A kind of beginning for the modern Bolivian fleet was laid back in 1939, when the army command realized the need for the presence of watercraft in a country dotted with rivers for the prompt delivery of military units to a particular area. Therefore, in the city of Riberalta, at the confluence of the Madre de Dios and the Rio Beni, the School of Mechanics and Navigation was founded. It is worth noting that from the first days one of the goals of teaching at the school was the formation of the cadets "sea consciousness". Another evidence of hopes for access to the ocean.
The official foundation of the future Navy took place in January 1963, when the "military forces of rivers and lakes" were formed. Fortunately, there are plenty of rivers and lakes on the territory of Bolivia, and the country is forced to share the large alpine lake Titicaca with its former ally - Peru. In the beginning, the new "force" consisted of four American boats with 1,800 personnel. Almost all of the "sailors" were recruited from simple infantry units. Soon the painful syndrome of loss of access to the sea prevailed, and the "powers of rivers and lakes" were renamed Armada Boliviana.
At the moment, the Bolivian fleet is armed with from 70 to 160 different vessels, including inflatable motor boats and non-self-propelled craft for transporting rapid response teams. The backbone of the patrol means are Boston Whaler boats, which in fact are just motor boats, and boats of the 928 YC type purchased in China. The fleet also has eight assault boats, several transports, hospital ships, a training ship, etc.
The fleet includes the Marine Corps, the naval military police and even aviation, which is based on the light-engine aircraft of the American company Cessna. The special forces of the Navy stand somewhat apart: the naval intelligence service, the diving training center, the rapid response group and the Blue Devils special forces.
This invincible armada was commanded by Admiral Palmiro Gonzalo Yarjuri Rada, who graduated from the Naval Academy of the Bolivian Navy with a warrant officer's degree in December 1986. But after the coup d'état, he was removed from command. Today the head of the fleet is Orlando Mejia Heredia Meij.
Return to the ocean
Revanchist sentiments in Bolivia over the loss of the coast are more than strong. Therefore, in 1992, the country's leadership signed an agreement for a 99-year lease of a five-kilometer strip of coast from Peru, i.e. with a former ally. The project has received a very symbolic name "Boliviamar". However, at that moment, Bolivia did not receive a direct outlet to the sea. Various interstate disagreements and interventions by a third party - Chile, which never wanted to give the defeated side any hope for a true fleet, interfered.
Finally, in 2010, the project was implemented. True, in a somewhat truncated form. The strip of the "Bolivian" coast was absolutely deserted, unequipped territory without the slightest hint of any roads or other infrastructure. But the warships of Bolivia received the right to freely enter the Peruvian port of Ilo along the rivers. But the government paid much more attention not to its native fleet, but to trade and tourism projects.
Then-President Evo Morales shared his truly Napoleonic plans. He hoped to build a port, a hotel on the new "Bolivian" territory and open a free trade zone. A little later, however, it was announced the construction of a naval school, where they will train naval officers. In honor of these events, a very peculiar monument was even erected on the deserted coast.
At the same time, all this time Chile in every possible way hindered the realization of the dream of Bolivian sailors to return to the "big water". The stumbling block was the results of the aforementioned Second Pacific War. This regional war for resources acquired no less significance for the Chileans and Bolivians than the Great Patriotic War for us. Bolivia was not inferior either, which bombarded international courts with the demand not only to calm down the enemy, but also to return the seized territory to them.
After the coup that overthrew Morales, the situation around Boliviamar was frozen. As a matter of fact, like the international court. Will Bolivia's "kiddie" fleet ever plunge into an ocean pool for "grown-ups"? Who knows, if you remember the number of military coups in South America, which have become almost a tradition … And no one guarantees that turbulent streams of coups will not begin in Chile itself.
