Threats against President Paz's family referred to Bolivia's Public Prosecutor's Office
The Bolivian Government filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office over threats made against the family of President Rodrigo Paz, as part of its efforts to combat organised crime.
Bolivia files criminal complaint over threats against presidential family
The Government of Bolivia filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday to investigate threats received by the family of President Rodrigo Paz, according to infobae.com. The president had warned on Monday that his family was at "risk" as a result of his administration's actions against organised crime.
"We have filed the complaint with the Public Ministry so that an investigation is opened, because we cannot tolerate organised crime using threatening mechanisms to prevent us from continuing to fight corruption," declared the Vice-Minister of Transparency, Yamil García, to local media.
García further noted that he and other officials have also been threatened "through social media and messaging applications," and emphasised that Paz "is leading a frontal struggle" against corruption, which is why "reprisals are surely aimed at that level." The vice-minister indicated that, in coordination with the Public Prosecutor's Office, efforts would be made to "identify which spheres are issuing these threats."
Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo confirmed that "there are a series of threats against the presidential family" that are already under investigation, without providing additional details.
On Monday, Paz had stated that his Government's decisions "against high-level criminals"—among them the alleged Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset—were the cause of the risk facing his family. Marset, after almost three years as a fugitive, was arrested in Bolivia in March and transferred to the United States, where he remains in custody.
In late September, then-Bolivian Attorney General Roger Mariaca was removed from office and imprisoned, accused by the Government of allegedly leading a criminal organisation aimed at protecting "narco-terrorism" and of maintaining links with Marset. His detention came two days after the US Government included him on a list of officials and former officials whose visas were revoked for being considered "corrupt" and for "undermining democratically elected Governments," accusations that Mariaca rejected at the time.
During the current year, other foreigners linked to organised crime were also arrested in Bolivia and handed over to their countries of origin. Among them were Brazilians Gerson Palermo, identified as one of the leaders of the First Capital Command (PCC), and Kléber Nóbrega Pereira, identified as a leader of the Red Command (CV).
Source: Google News BO — Crime