La Paz, Bolivia - January 12, 2025 Bolivian park ranger Marcos Uzquiano's laureate career of more than 20 years as a park ranger was interrupted after his recent untimely dismissal, which he attributed in an interview with EFE to the discomfort caused by his public denunciations of illegal mining and illegal poaching in protected areas. Camera: GINA BALDIVIESO. STATEMENTS BY THE BOLIVIAN PARK RANGER MARCOS UZQUIANO. TRANSLATION: “This memorandum that has been delivered to me on December 31, 2024, in addition to violating my individual right to work, is also being a great threat to the collective rights of the Bolivian population. And when I speak of collective rights I am referring precisely to our protected areas, it is a sample, it is a way of how they intend to silence the voice of those of us who defend nature. It is a way of disciplining the park rangers, so that they do not speak out, so that they do not denounce, because that is what they have established. The memorandum does not cite any cause nor does it substantiate any argument that has motivated my dismissal.” [Restrictions: Spain, Latin America, or the U.S. Hispanic market]