Bolivia's first conservative president in 20 years promises warmer US ties

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's first conservative president-elect in 20 years, Rodrigo Paz, injected a sharp note of realism into his plans to tackle Bolivia's economic crisis on Monday, a day after his surprise electoral victory signaled the end of decades of leftist rule in the South American nation.

After years of government antipathy toward the U.S. under the Movement Toward Socialism party, Paz pledged to rebuild relations with Washington — and attract foreign investment to a country long locked out of international markets.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Paz’s victory Sunday “marks a transformative opportunity for both nations" to work on investment, immigration, security and other matters.

“The message from Mr. Trump’s administration itself is a very clear and open signal,” Paz said at a news conference. “We will have a fluid relationship and commitments to cooperation and joint work between both nations.”

In another sign of the dramatic regional shift, Paz on Monday held a video call with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this month. After years of Bolivia aligning itself with Venezuela's increasingly repressive President Nicolás Maduro, Paz told Machado that his country was “here to join in the fight for Venezuela and for Latin American democracies.”

“These are very difficult times; here we have achieved a great step," he said of Bolivia's break with socialism.

Paz won 54.5% of the vote, according to preliminary results.

Paz defeated right-wing former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in Sunday's presidential election runoff after a campaign in which both candidates reached out to Washington, though Quiroga was seen as having warmer ties with the Trump administration.

Quiroga pitched having the International Monetary Fund impose a fiscal shock package to right the economy, an unpopular move with many voters. Sensitive to the country’s deep-seated resentment of such international organizations under leftist rule, Paz rejected an IMF bailout.

He did reveal on Monday that he was talking to the Trump administration — among “other friendly countries” — to ensure Bolivia would have fuel imports after he takes office on Nov. 8.

“The process is underway. We are coordinating in the best way possible so that the much-needed fuel — gasoline and diesel — can arrive, and from that, we can bring calm to the population,” Paz said, without elaborating.

The commodities boom of the early 2000s sent money flowing into Bolivia under then- President Evo Morales as natural gas exports surged. But production slumped and, amid profligate spending on subsidies, the central bank has practically run out of U.S. dollars.

Without the cash to pay for imports, fuel lines stretch along the streets of major cities. Year-on-year inflation soared to 23% in September, the highest rate since 1991.

Paz — the son of former leftist President Jaime Paz Zamora — was a political unknown in the early stages of the campaign despite his two decades in politics, first as a mayor, then as a senator.

But his pick as a running mate of Edman Lara, a social media-savvy former police captain, transformed his campaign, solidifying his appeal to working-class and rural voters who saw themselves in Lara's own humble origin story and in his public struggles against what they see as a corrupt establishment.

Lara gained fame on TikTok in 2023 after being fired from the police force for denouncing corruption in viral videos.

Lara made populist promises like pension increases and cash handouts for the poor that flew in the face of Paz's grim economic arithmetic, but he helped differentiate Paz from Quiroga and whipped up excitement among many Bolivians who once belonged to the MAS party.

Morales, who governed for 14 years and was barred from this race due to a contentious court ruling on term limits, warned Paz and Lara on Monday that winning the votes of his former followers comes at a price.

“It does not give you a blank check,” Morales said. “It is a vote with a mandate ... not to apply neoliberal measures, not to submit to imperialism, not to be repressive, not to criminalize protest."

On Monday, Paz spoke soberly about the importance of cleaning house and restoring faith in Bolivia’s corruption-riddled institutions before making any splashy promises.

The leader of Paz’s economic team, José Gabriel Espinoza, told the AP that cash handouts for the poor were still financially feasible to help cushion the blow of lifting the country's expensive fuel subsidies.

Espinoza said that Congress had already approved a $3.5 billion loan to be disbursed over the coming months and that Paz is working on another $600 million to balance the books within the first 60 days of his presidency.

“Today we have a blind subsidy, we subsidize fuel for everyone. So what we’ll do is target the subsidy to poorer families through direct cash transfers, while keeping gasoline prices stable for transport workers,” said Espinoza.

When asked how he would draw foreign investment and take on foreign debt, Paz repeated: “First you put the house in order quickly."

That involves changing Bolivia's Constitution, he said, a prospect that has stirred fears among the country's Indigenous majority who finally found political representation in the 2005 election of MAS party founder Morales as the country’s first Indigenous president.

Under Morales, a 2009 constitution gave Indigenous and other grassroots groups a bigger role in electoral politics and decision-making after years of being treated as second-class citizens by Bolivia's largely white and mestizo, or mixed-race, minority. The constitution also overhauled the judicial system, making it more vulnerable to political influence.

Paz promised that his government would respect its commitment to the Indigenous majority but prioritize changes in a judiciary that for years has been seen as a political prize to be won rather than a check on government power. He pledged to convene a summit to produce concrete proposals the day after his inauguration.

To contain any frustration at his inability to fulfill his promises in the short term while pushing through difficult reforms, experts say that Paz will need to show the negotiating powers that he boasted of in his campaign.

He appeared aware of that in Monday's news conference, saying that he and Lara “have extended our hand to all political forces in Parliament.”

Presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz addresses supporters after preliminary results showed him leading in the presidential runoff election in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

CORRECTS PEDRO TO EDMAN LARA - President-elect Rodrigo Paz, left, and his running mate Edman Lara give a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

President-elect Rodrigo Paz gives a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Suppoters of presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz celebrate after early results showed him leading in the presidential runoff election in Tarija, Bolivia, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan)

Suppoters of presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz celebrate after preliminary results showed him leading in the presidential runoff election in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz waves a Bolivian flag after preliminary results showed him leading in the presidential runoff election in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Presidential candidate Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga embraces running mate Juan Pablo Velasco, right, after early results showed them trailing in the presidential runoff election in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz waves to supporters after preliminary results showed him leading in the presidential runoff election in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo//Natacha Pisarenko)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)