Red alert issued against former minister Del Castillo over alleged links to drug trafficker Marset
The Public Ministry issued a red notice alert to locate former minister Eduardo Del Castillo. Raids in La Paz uncovered homemade explosives and a DEA jacket.
Search for former minister Del Castillo widens with red alert and raids in La Paz
The Public Ministry activated a red notice alert against former Government Minister Eduardo Del Castillo, according to confirmation from El Deber. The measure is part of operations to locate the former official, who is being investigated for his alleged links to Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset.
The interim Attorney General of the State, José Urioste, announced the action on Friday from Tarija. "There is a red notice alert," he declared to the media. Urioste specified that migration alerts and search warrants were also issued in connection with the case.
The intensification of the search came after, following the capture of former Attorney General Roger Mariaca, an audio recording was released in which Marset allegedly names Del Castillo for receiving payments in exchange for protection and allowing him to operate in Bolivia. These allegations form part of the evidence that investigations will need to clarify.
Two simultaneous raids in the capital
On Thursday afternoon, police carried out two operations in La Paz, reported Government Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo. The first was conducted at a residence belonging to Del Castillo located in an Achumani neighbourhood. The second took place in an apartment in Villa Copacabana, where Aristóteles C., allegedly resided, a former official in the Government Ministry during Del Castillo's tenure.
In that second property, agents found four explosive devices, twenty firecrackers, three mobile phones, a passport belonging to the former official, and a jacket bearing the initials of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Oviedo identified Aristóteles C. as a key figure in an alleged structure linked to drug trafficking and activities that the minister described as terrorist. That characterisation corresponds to the declarations of the authority and shall be contrasted within the framework of the judicial process.
Police investigate destination of explosives
The Commander General of the Bolivian Police, Adrián Álvarez, detailed that the four devices were manufactured in an artisanal manner using dynamite paste, detonator and slow-burning fuse. Álvarez indicated as one hypothesis that the explosives could be destined for mobilisations by sectors aligned with former president Evo Morales, although no independent confirmation was presented regarding their destination nor about who would have manufactured them.
The authorities are still tasked with establishing the source of the materials, their specific purpose, and the possible participation of other persons in their preparation.
The red notice alert and the raids are part of the actions undertaken to locate Del Castillo and clarify the complaints that have emerged regarding his alleged relationship with Marset.
Source: El Deber