BOLIVIA – At least 57 anti-government protesters were on Saturday arrested after clashes with security forces as they protested the country’s economic crisis.

Media reports said miners, Indigenous groups, teachers, students and workers gathered around the administrative capital of La Paz, setting up roadblocks and confronting police.

Three people died after blockades prevented access to hospitals, while 57 individuals involved in violent disturbances were taken into custody, according to the government.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators, who responded with stones and Molotov cocktails during the confrontations.

Government spokesperson Jose Luis Galvez said a joint force of 3,500 police officers and military personnel launched a large-scale operation to remove the barricades.

Galvez said the operation was to restore the transport of food, medical supplies and oxygen deliveries to hospitals, adding that security operations were ongoing.

Meanwhile, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras issued a statement expressing concern about the situation in Bolivia.

It voiced support and solidarity with the government of President Rodrigo Paz Pereira and rejected all forms of violence aimed at destabilizing the country’s democratic order.

Miners, labor unions and social organizations have been protesting fuel shortages, high inflation, a lack of US dollars and worsening economic conditions in the country for weeks.