Striking mineworkers in Bolivia abducted Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes and beat him to death after he travelled to the area to mediate in the bitter conflict over mining laws.

"At this present time, all the indications are that our deputy minister Rodolfo Illanes has been brutally and cowardly assassinated," said Minister of Government Carlos Romero.

Mr. Illanes had travelled to Panduro - a town around 130 kilometers south of La Paz - to talk with striking miners who had blocked traffic, which had left thousands of motorists stranded in their cars on the local highway.  The miners are demanding more mining concessions with less stringent environmental rules, the right to work for private companies, and greater union representation.  The government, which nationalized Bolivia's resources sector after taking power in 2006, argues that if the miners are allowed associate with multinational companies they will cease to be worker-owned cooperatives.  Most of the country's mines are controlled by such cooperatives.

The highway blockade in Panduro became violent earlier this week.  Police opened fire on strikers on Wednesday, killing two - 17 police officers have been killed

The vast majority of miners in Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries, work in cooperatives, scraping a living producing silver, tin and zinc. There are few foreign-owned mining firms, unlike in neighboring Peru and Chile.