Bolivia expels 65 leaders of PCC and Comando Vermelho; one faction persists in three regions
Bolivian police expelled 65 heads of transnational criminal organisations, but one faction remains active in Santa Cruz, Beni and the Cochabamba tropics.
Police expel 65 leaders of PCC and Comando Vermelho, but one organisation persists in three regions
The general commander of the Bolivian police, Adrián Álvarez, announced the expulsion of 65 leaders of transnational criminal organisations as a result of operations against structures linked to the First Command of the Capital (PCC), Comando Vermelho and other factions, according to El Deber.
"The actions deployed by the Bolivian police against these international organisations have achieved the expulsion of 65 leaders of organisations and structures, factions linked to the PCC, to Comando Vermelho and other organisations," Álvarez stated.
Threats against the vice-minister of Interior Affairs
The operations would have provoked, according to Álvarez, direct threats against the vice-minister of Interior Affairs and Police, Peter Maldonado Bakovic. The warning was materialised with the murder of a man in the vicinity of the Ecological Corridor of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, who received four gunshot wounds.
A poster was found on the body with a message directed explicitly at the vice-minister: "The deadline has already been met, from here on out every death that happens will be on your conscience. Pay the debt".
Álvarez characterised the message as a direct threat from the organisations being combated and maintained that the fact was directly related to ongoing operations. "We are affecting million-dollar interests, we are affecting structures that have remained in our state for many years," the commander stated.
One faction still active in Santa Cruz, Beni and the Cochabamba tropics
Álvarez revealed that one of the criminal organisations has not been dismantled completely. Its operations maintain a presence in three regions of the country: Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Beni and the tropics of Cochabamba. The commander clarified that these structures entered Bolivian territory approximately a decade ago and operated under a protection system that, he indicated, no longer exists.
The police have identified the location where a video related to the threats was filmed and are deploying operations to obtain concrete results.
WhatsApp group from Brazil to disseminate information
The commander also mentioned that two international phone numbers—one of them from Brazil—created a WhatsApp group in which journalists and other people were added to disseminate information about the murder that occurred in Santa Cruz. For Álvarez, this fact evidences a deliberate strategy by criminal organisations to use the media and generate disinformation.
The police will not suspend operations
Álvarez assured that the institution will not lower its guard in the face of the threats received and warned that it will respond to any attempt to attack authorities or citizens, within the constitutional and legal framework.
"We will not lower our arms, on the contrary, we will continue with the deployment of these operations to achieve the dismantling and destruction of these criminal organisations that aim to establish themselves and continue deploying their illegal activities as they did in the past when they had protection systems. Today that protection no longer exists," the general commander stated.
Álvarez described these structures as narco-terrorist organisations and stated that the ultimate objective is to recover peace in the regions of eastern Bolivia and guarantee the security of the population.
Source: El Deber