Bolivia enacts law to replace attorney-general detained on drug-trafficking charges
President Rodrigo Paz enacted a law suspending attorney-general Roger Mariaca, detained on suspicion of links to drug trafficking and money laundering.
Paz signs suspension law following detention of prosecutor Mariaca
Bolivia's President Rodrigo Paz enacted a law on Friday that modifies the procedure for replacing attorney-general Roger Mariaca, detained on Wednesday as part of an investigation into suspected links to drug trafficking, according to radio3cadenapatagonia.com.ar. Congress had approved the measure that same day.
The new regulation stipulates that the head of the Public Ministry must be suspended when there is a criminal charge against him or a restrictive judicial measure, such as preventive detention. Mariaca, who has held the post since 2024, faces charges of money laundering, drug trafficking and criminal organisation, accusations which he rejects.
During the enactment ceremony, Paz stated that the arrest was the result of investigative work and maintained that there are sectors seeking to influence state institutions through organised crime. The Ministry of Government indicated that Mariaca allegedly provided protection to Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset, arrested in March and subsequently extradited to the United States with DEA involvement.
Following the enactment of the law, Congress was to meet to vote on Mariaca's suspension and appoint an interim attorney-general. The Public Ministry had appointed Luis Montaño, the longest-serving official of the body, to that position, but Paz's government rejected that appointment and warned that Montaño could be detained on suspicion of obstructing the investigation.
The operation also resulted in the detention of 13 other people: three prosecutors, six Public Ministry employees and four individuals who allegedly attempted to withdraw approximately 300,000 dollars from Mariaca's residence, hidden in an ambulance. The prosecutor's detention came after the United States revoked visas for him and other judges, officials and businesspeople from Bolivia and countries in the region.
Source: Google News BO — La Paz