43 high-end vehicles seized in Santa Cruz in former prosecutor Mariaca case
The FELCN and the Public Prosecutor's Office intervened at two car dealerships in Santa Cruz and seized 43 vehicles, several of brands Porsche, BMW and Lexus, linked to the investigation of former prosecutor Mariaca.
Paz questions criminal infiltration in Public Prosecutor's Office following operation in Santa Cruz
President Rodrigo Paz reacted on Monday with the question "in whose hands were we?" upon learning of the seizure of 43 vehicles in Santa Cruz, several of them high-end, as part of the investigation into former general prosecutor Róger Mariaca. According to El Deber, the president linked the operations to his allegations regarding the infiltration of organised crime in the country's justice institutions.
During the promulgation ceremony of the Law on Prescription and Consolidation of Judicial Deposits, held at the Palacio Quemado, Paz questioned how a supposedly corrupt structure could operate within the Public Prosecutor's Office. "How can we discover and connect 43 vehicles?", he asked. The president indicated that the findings could be linked to former officials of the Public Prosecutor's Office, though he clarified that ownership and illicit origin of the vehicles has not been established.
The raids
The FELCN and the Public Prosecutor's Office intervened at two car dealerships in Santa Cruz over the weekend. At the Prestige premises, located on the fourth ring and Radial 27, they seized 13 vehicles; at Fullcars, on 2 de Agosto avenue, a further 30, of which eight remained sealed. Among the brands examined were Porsche, BMW and Lexus. The authorities also collected documents, mobile phones and recording equipment.
The raids were authorised by a judicial resolution of 11 October, at the request of prosecutors Daniel Portales and Edwin Sarmiento. The investigations aim to establish the origin and ownership of the assets, as well as their possible connections to the crimes being investigated. Preventive seizure does not amount to definitive confiscation nor proves a connection to drug trafficking.
Mariaca, detained on 1 October, remains in preventive detention at Cantumarca, Potosí. Investigations are examining suspicions of criminal organisation, trafficking in controlled substances and money laundering. Other former officials are also under investigation.
Threats to the judicial system
Paz maintained that improving the infrastructure and equipment of institutions is not sufficient if extortion and threats persist. He alleged that corruption can leave families defenceless when they turn to the Public Prosecutor's Office for cases such as femicide and claimed that some frontier judges act under intimidation from armed groups. "It cannot be that the threat of organised crime is what dictates sentences in Bolivia", he stated. He added that victims without financial resources can be left unattended whilst other people obtain favours through payments or extortion.
The president also warned that his family faces risks because of decisions taken against drug trafficking, and mentioned fugitive Sebastián Marset among those driving such pressure.
His statements came following a warning from Mónica Mendoza, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (Unodc), who described Bolivia in a weekend interview as a criminal "hub". Mendoza pointed to the expansion of the PCC and Comando Vermelho, from Brazil, and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, from Mexico, and warned of the convergence between drug trafficking, corruption and institutional infiltration. Her warning does not establish direct responsibility in the Mariaca case.
Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo announced that operations will continue with international cooperation. The seized documentation will be analysed to clarify possible links to the network being investigated.
Source: El Deber