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Thousands of transport workers and street and market vendors blocked highways and city streets in Santa Cruz on Tuesday (November 13) to protest new laws against the illegal trafficking of drugs and other contraband.
Under the new measure, anyone caught dealing in drugs or selling illegal products would have all their personal possessions expropriated by authorities.
The law is waiting approval from President Evo Morales, but meanwhile protests against it got heated on Tuesday.
Police fired tear gas as protesters tried to block the highway leading to the local airport, a major transportation hub in Santa Cruz, the largest city in Bolivia's agricultural heartland in the east of the country.
The 24-hour strike by the workers also spread into downtown, where protesters burned tires and faced off with police.
