Bolivia appoints interim prosecutor after Mariaca's arrest over drug trafficking links
Bolivian Congress designated José Armando Urioste as interim prosecutor with 113 votes, after suspending Roger Mariaca, detained for alleged links to organised crime.
Bolivian Congress appoints interim prosecutor following Mariaca's detention
Bolivia's Parliament appointed José Armando Urioste as interim general prosecutor on Saturday, following the suspension of Roger Mariaca, who was detained mid-week after being identified by the United States as maintaining alleged links to drug trafficking. According to diariolasamericas.com, the appointment took place at the end of a lengthy emergency session that lasted from Friday evening until 06H30 local time (10H30 GMT).
The vote yielded 113 votes in favour and 11 against, following lengthy negotiations and several nominations that failed to reach consensus. To enable the replacement, Congress had previously to amend the regulations governing the suspension of the general prosecutor in the event of criminal charges or preventive detention. President Rodrigo Paz enacted that law on Friday evening.
Upon taking office, Urioste acknowledged the severity of the institutional situation. "We are receiving an institution that demonstrates, by the events of this week, that it is completely tarnished by acts of corruption, stained by the regrettable trajectory of our colleagues," he told El Deber newspaper. On the Mariaca case, he stated that he would investigate the matter under the principle of presumption of innocence and objectivity, ruling out "a witch hunt". He also called on citizens to overcome their fear and report acts of corruption.
The Bolivian Government had detained Mariaca on Wednesday, two days after Washington cancelled his visa for alleged links to criminal organisations. The Republican administration revoked visas for senior officials from Bolivia, Colombia and Peru on Monday, accusing them of being "corrupt" and of "undermining democratically elected governments".
Mariaca faces charges in Bolivian courts of money laundering, drug trafficking and organised crime, accusations which he denies. At the preliminary detention hearing, the Fifth Penal Instruction Judge in La Paz, Juan Carlos Montalbán Zapata, rejected that the case be referred to a responsibility trial and ordered that the proceedings continue through the ordinary judicial channel.
Along with Mariaca, 13 other people were detained on Wednesday: three prosecutors, six officials from the Prosecutor's Office and four individuals caught attempting to withdraw approximately 300,000 dollars from the home of the former prosecutor, hidden in an ambulance.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorsed the Bolivian government's actions on Thursday. "The Trump Administration stands firmly with President Paz and the democratically elected government of Bolivia as it takes bold and decisive action to combat drug trafficking, systemic corruption and transnational organised crime in Bolivia," he stated.
Source: Information from AFP / La Razón / La Prensa / El Deber, compiled by diariolasamericas.com.
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