Morales Pledges Cooperation With U.S.

Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales, a leftist critic of the U.S., and Washington’s top official for Latin America pledged to work together at a meeting.

Thomas A. Shannon, the U.S. assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs, called his first encounter with Morales “very important” and wished him success on the eve of today’s inauguration.

“I wanted to assure him that we are very willing to begin a process of dialogue to determine the way in which the two governments can work together,” Shannon told reporters in La Paz.

During his campaign, Morales said his leftist party was “a nightmare for the United States.”