Bolivia, Batteries & Carlos the Jackal

Batteries will be the power source behind cars of the not too distant future (and some cars today). One country controls 80% of the world's supply of a critical element for rechargeable batteries.

The element? Lithium

The country? Bolivia



From the transcript of the video that appears on NPR...

Half a world away, Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, is going for a drive in an electric car. The French auto magnate, Vincent Bollore, whose company has developed the vehicle is showing him the prototypes.

Morales is a socialist determined to uphold the rights of Bolivia's indigenous people. He says the Americans are all imperialists, so the Frenchman sees an opportunity to win favor and get the lithium.

VINCENT BOLLORE, French businessman (through translator): It's you who controls the raw materials for the 21st and 22nd centuries. You're like Saudi Arabia. It's you.

As with many developing countries, the story doesn't end there. There frequently seems to be some drama playing out Evo Morales.

Most recently as reported in a NYT article alledgedly there was a foiled plot to assassinate Morales by a man from Ireland, a Romanian of Hungarian descent, and a Bolivian with Hungarian and Croatian passports who at one time was an associate of infamous 70s and 80s terrorist Carlos the Jackal. Pretty crazy in my book but read the NYT article yourself and get more of the bizarre details...which even includes paintball.