Evo's tumour again

Despite Bolivia flatly denying that the operation Evo went through was to remove a tumour, another new Wikileak has emerged mentioning the case and getting pretty specific. Here's the excerpt from this cable:

Despite the official government position that 

President Morales will undergo treatment to correct a 

deviated septum immediately following the referendum, several 

contacts confirm that the problem is actually a tumor in the 


pituitary near the sella turcica and that Morales will travel 

to Spain for the operation.  xxxxxxxxxxxx 

xxxxxxxxxxxx told us Morales' first choice, Cuba, could not 

perform the surgery. 

Detailed stuff, right? In the end, note that Evo didn't travel to Spain or Cuba but had the corrective surgery in La Paz Bolivia. However, it was performed by Cuban surgeons. 

By the way, that very same cable linked above is evidence that The USA really doesn't have the first clue about Bolivia, even at a diplomatic level. Here's a dude writing his letters home from the La Paz Embassy talking about Bolivia's "quickly crumbling economy". Jeeez! For one thing Bolivia's "crumbling economy "just happened to be the number one best performing economy in the whole of The Americas in 2009 and for another, the economic policies have continued to this day, giving Bolivia a decent growth forecast for 2010. Currency reserves are at an all-time record, its trade surplus is excellent and the acid test of any country, its currency, shows strength all round, with the crawling peg recently ratcheted up a notch and Bolivians, for the first time ever, holding more savings in local currency than in the US Dollar. No wonder US policymakers get the country so wrong: they're informed by utter dumbasses. 

What is (was) up Evo's nose?

Another cute leak this morning:

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRASILIA 000093 

SIPDIS 

STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/AND, INR 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2019 
TAGS: PREL PINR BO BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL'S LULA OFFERS BOLIVIA'S MORALES TREATMENT 
FOR TUMOR 

Classified By: Ambassador Clifford M. Sobel, Reason 1.4 
(b) and (d) 

¶1. (C) In a conversation with Ambassador Sobel following the 
January 15, 2009 La Paz meeting between Brazilian President Lula and 
Bolivian President Morales, Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson
 Jobim (protect) confirmed an earlier rumor that Morales is 
suffering from a serious sinus tumor. Jobim told the Ambassador 
that Lula had offered Morales an examination and treatment at a 
Sao Paulo hospital. Although there have been been public reports 
that Morales needs surgery for "acute sinusitis," and related 
otitis and headaches, according to Jobim his problems in fact 
are caused by a serious tumor and the surgery will be an effort
 to remove it. Treatment has been put off, however, until after
 the constitutional referendum scheduled for January 25. Jobim,
 who attended the meeting between Lula and Morales, commented 
that the tumor might explain why Morales has seemed unfocussed
 and not his usual self at this and other recent meetings. SOBEL

UPDATE: Bolivia is denying that Evo ever had a tumour. From this WaPo story:

"Morales' spokesman Ivan Canelas denied there had ever been any tumor, saying Morales had surgery last year for a problem with his nasal septum that was causing him constant colds. In a radio interview, he said the leaked cable "had a big dose of speculation.""

WhaaAAAAAaaaaAAAAt? Y-y-y-y-y-y-you mean it's remotely possible that the US Diplo corps in South America has been making shit up about Evo Morales? WHAT A SHOCKAH!