Government Announces Bid to Redistribute Land

Bolivia's government took out newspaper ads announcing its aim to redistribute nearly a fifth of the country's territory, and angry landowners vowed to form land-defense groups.

Leftist President Evo Morales has pledged to redistribute idle farmland to the impoverished country's landless peasants.

Some landowners in the agricultural heartland of Santa Cruz province said they would be willing to take up arms to keep their land.

The government warned that armed vigilante groups would not be tolerated.