LA PAZ, June 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Bolivia's defense minister resigned on Tuesday after more than a month of protests demanding President Rodrigo Paz's ouster, a government source told AFP.

Workers, farmers, miners, transport workers, and teachers are demanding measures to address the country's worst economic crisis in four decades.

The government has not ruled out declaring a state of emergency to use the military to control the demonstrations.

"Yes, this information is confirmed," said a Defense Ministry source who confirmed Marcelo Salinas' departure but requested anonymity.

Bolivian media reported that Salinas resigned and was replaced by Ernesto Justiniano, a junior minister who acts as the country's anti-drug tsar.