The United States on Thursday threw its support behind embattled Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, offering emergency assistance while warning against attempts to topple the government.

The Bolivian leader is facing nationwide protests and calls for his resignation.

In a phone call late Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured Paz that Washington was "ramping up emergency assistance and logistics operations support" to help Bolivians dealing with "acute food and medical shortages" due to roadblocks, according to a State Department spokesman.

Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth denounced "attempts to overthrow the legitimate government" of center-right Paz.

"The United States is watching," Hegseth wrote on X. He pledged continued support for Paz "to ensure that narco-terrorists are deterred from profiting on death and destruction in our hemisphere."

Paz, a pro-business conservative, took office a little over seven months ago after a landmark election that ended two decades of leftist rule.

He moved quickly to restore severed relations with the United States and introduced sweeping economic reforms, including including cutting fuel subsidies that had ravaged public finances. But backlash has boiled over across Bolivia.

Facing demands to step down, Paz said he had prepared a bill that would empower the military to tackle demonstrations and restore order.

On Wednesday in La Paz, the capital, thousands of Bolivians queued for hours to buy chicken, a stark sign of how much families are struggling with shortages that have been worsened by protests.