Brazil’s foreign minister was sacked for being asleep at the switch when one of his underlings went on a rogue diplomatic mission to sneak a fallen politician from Bolivia into Brazil.  It’s a diplomatic disaster between South America’s richest and poorest nations.

Career diplomat Antonio Patriota resigned as foreign minister and will in effect swap jobs with Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, Brazil’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York.

Here’s how it went down:  Bolivian Senator Roger Pinto had been holed-up in the Brazilian embassy in La Paz for a year, to escape what he said were death threats for denouncing alleged ties between drug traffickers and Evo Morales’ government.  But during that time, Pinto’s physical and mental health apparently suffered; so Brazil’s charge d’affaires in La Paz, Eduardo Saboia, stuck Pinto in an embassy car and had him brought to Brazil.

But Saboia didn't ask for permission, because he had already asked for direction on the Pinto case for more than a year, and Patriota never answered.  And from there came his downfall.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is angry at her Foreign Ministry and embarrassed.  And Bolivia is now demanding answers from Brasilia, saying that Pinto isn't just a critic of President Morales, but a corrupt politician trying to escape formal charges.