U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend returned a crucifix to Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz that once belonged to Paz’s father, Jaime Paz Zamora — fulfilling a nearly 36 year-old promise made by late President George H. W. Bush to Paz Zamora.
Rodrigo Paz is one of the 12 Latin American heads of state invited by President Donald Trump to form part of the “Shield of the Americas,” a regional counter-cartel and anti-foreign influence coalition hosted by Trump over the weekend at Trump National in Doral, Florida.
Paz and Rubio held a bilateral security meeting on the sidelines of the summit during which Rubio presented Paz with a golden crucifix that once belonged to his father, former Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora.
Bolivian and international outlets recounted that Paz Zamora gifted the crucifix — which belonged the Paz family for generations — to former President Bush during an official visit to Washington in 1990. Witnesses reportedly described the object as “not an ostentatious piece of jewelry, but rather an intimate object: a fine filigree cross, with the patina of time and family devotion.”
Paz Zamora insisted that the late U.S. president accept the crucifix, not as a material gift, “but as a symbol of friendship and faith between both nations.” Bush reluctantly accepted the gift but on one condition: that the crucifix would be returned to the Paz family once one of Paz Zamora’s children became president.
“Bush didn’t want to receive the crucifix. He told me he couldn’t accept it because of its symbolic value, but I insisted and in the end he agreed,” Paz Zamora reportedly said some years after his encounter with Bush.
Speaking in Spanish, Sec. Rubio explained that the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum reached out to the State Department explaining the story of the crucifix and requesting its delivery to President Paz. Rubio pointed out that, “after so many years, they still remember the promise they made.”
“When they told me that, they sent us a note this week. I said, let’s deliver it today,” Sec. Rubio said.
Paz explained that former President Bush’s promise came as as a surprise and explained that, after they landed in Miami, a U.S. Air Force official approached them and gave them a handwritten letter from Bush with the promise.
Paz recounted that he was present in the meeting alongside his brother Jaime, while Bush’s son, former President George W. Bush, was also present in the encounter between their fathers. Paz expressed that he has met three Republican U.S. Presidents — late President Bush, former President George W. Bush, and President Donald Trump.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau published a copy of late President Bush’s handwritten letter in which he said he would place the crucifix at a “very special place of honor in my library” and promising that it would be returned to one Paz Zamora’s sons when they became president of their country. Landau noted that the best part is that President Paz was able to share the story with his father, who is presently 86 years old.
According to Bolivian outlets, the crucifix will be taken back to El Picacho, the historic family residence of the Paz family in the southern city of Tarija.
President Rodrigo Paz took office as president of Bolivia in early November 2025, ending the two-decade-long rule of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) — a political party that, under former Presidents Evo Morales and Luis Arce, pushed Bolivia towards Iran and other anti-U.S. regimes.
Paz restored Bolivia’s ties with the United States within the first hours of his administration and vowed to work alongside America towards establishing a strong partnership. Deputy State Sec. Landau represented the U.S. during Paz’s inauguration, describing it as the “most emotional” presidential inauguration of his career as it marked the end of a strained relationship between Bolivia and the U.S.
Speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit on Saturday, President Trump referred to Bolivia as a “great people,” something that President Paz expressed gratitude for in an official statement from his office.
“When it came time to refer to me personally, I was filled with pride to hear that he chose something different: he spoke of ‘great people,’” the statement read in part. “He did not talk about Rodrigo Paz; he talked about the greatness of the Bolivian people.”
“It was not a personal compliment. It was a recognition of our people. And that, as President, is exactly what one seeks when one arrives at venues such as this: that one does not see a single person, but rather an entire country,” he continued. “It wasn’t just a president who arrived. Bolivia arrived. A country and a continent that are truly great.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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