EXCLUSIVE: After decades of strained relations, Bolivia is seeking a new partnership with the U.S. as it repositions itself in the region and works to reduce its dependence on China. 

The country’s pro-business conservative President, Rodrigo Paz, was sworn in last month, and made quick work of pivoting his country away from alliances with China and Venezuela and toward Western nations.  

Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo spoke with Fox News Digital as he visited Washington this week to sign an agreement reestablishing diplomatic ties with Israel, which had been cut off during the war in Gaza by the previous government.

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"We are looking for a long-term relationship with U.S., relations based on the same values and interests that we share, for democracy and to create a new alliance in South America," Aramayo said.

Paz's victory followed the unraveling of nearly two decades of leftist rule under Evo Morales and Luis Arce, whose MAS party fractured amid economic crises, corruption scandals and mounting public anger over alleged narcotrafficking networks embedded in the state. The collapse of that political machine opened the door for a conservative, pro-business candidate — a dramatic turn for a country that had been one of China and Venezuela’s closest ideological allies in the region.

Aramayo said his nation would institute new laws and regulations to attract U.S. investment and break up China’s "monopoly" on mining its natural resources, particularly lithium. 

The "U.S. has a lot of technology and has a lot of experience and sustainable extraction of resources," Aramayo said. "We want to take advantage of that. Of course, we want to receive some technology transfers and to be part of the whole chain of production."

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Aramayo said he "of course" shares U.S. concerns that China uses its investments in Latin America to extract leverage. "We want to diversify our portfolio and we want serious investors."

Aramayo said one of the region’s most urgent challenges is the growing influence of transnational criminal organizations, which he argues have flourished amid years of political instability. He warned that cartels have embedded themselves across South America and that Bolivia is still grappling with the legacy of what he described as "narco authorities" governing the country over the past two decades.

"We’re very concerned about the presence of these cartels in South America," he said, noting that criminal networks undermine confidence in state institutions and fuel cross-border instability.

The interview comes as the U.S. steps up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, striking what U.S. officials describe as narco-trafficking vessels linked to his regime and seizing an oil tanker allegedly used to evade sanctions. Aramayo did not criticize or oppose the U.S. actions, saying instead that Washington — like any government — "has the right to represent their own interests." He added that South American nations broadly share concerns about Venezuela’s trajectory and are open to diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis.

Bolivia’s new administration, he said, intends to support a "democratic transition" in Venezuela and work with regional partners to help restore the "legitimacy and reliability" of its institutions after years of political repression and economic collapse.

The homeless Massachusetts woman charged in the stabbing of another woman in the bathroom of Macy's in New York City has a history of mental illness, was released from a psychiatric hospital hours before the attack and claimed voices in her head said she "had to kill someone" or be killed.

Kerri Aherne, 43, stabbed a California woman in the back on Thursday as she was changing her baby inside a bathroom in the iconic Macy's Herald Square. 

The victim, who has only been identified by her employment with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and was discharged on Friday.

Aherne was charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with what police have described as an unprovoked attack. She is being held without bail.

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Court records show Aherne, whose last known address was in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has a long history of struggling with mental illness.

Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint that Aherne told police she had been discharged from Manhattan Psychiatric Center the morning of Thursday's stabbing after a yearlong stay.

She also allegedly said she purchased a knife at Macy's and looked for someone to kill because "voices in her head told her she had to kill someone, or she would be killed."

In 2019, records show she was deemed an incapacitated person, and her mother and sister were appointed as her guardians, according to the New York Post.

Aherne was placed on a court-ordered treatment plan to ensure she continues taking Prolixin, an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia, the records show.

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Her Facebook has been inactive since 2018. In one of her last posts, she wrote, "Going a little insane," along with a still from a Michael Jackson video.

Aherne was arraigned on Friday, when her attorney told the court he plans to request bail at a future hearing.

When the judge said she would be held without bail until her next court appearance, Aherne interrupted and begged not to be sent to another mental health facility, the New York Post reported.

"I don’t want to go to another hospital," Aherne said. "They didn’t help me at Manhattan Psychiatric Center."

She is due back in court on Dec. 17.