Luis Marcelo Arce's detention extended by 40 days more at Palmasola for money laundering
The son of former president Luis Arce has remained imprisoned at Palmasola since 20 March. A judge extended his preventive detention by a further 40 days.
Judge extends preventive detention of Arce Catacora's son
Judge Primo Flores issued a further 40 days of preventive detention against Luis Marcelo Arce Mosqueira at Palmasola prison on Wednesday, according to El Deber. The ruling was issued following a hearing held on the 13th floor of the Palace of Justice, which the defendant attended after temporarily leaving the prison.
Arce Mosqueira, son of former president Luis Arce Catacora, has been held in the PC-6 wing of Palmasola since 20 March, as part of proceedings brought against him by the Public Ministry for illicit enrichment.
The Prosecution, headed by a commission of prosecutors led by Tatiana Plata, had requested an extension of 60 days, arguing the need to accumulate more evidence to take the case to trial. The prosecutors also cited flight risk as grounds for maintaining the preventive measure.
Judge Flores approved the request in part, setting the extension at 40 days.
The defendant and his defence lawyers participated in the hearing, as did representatives of the Vice-Ministry of Transparency and the State Prosecutor's Office. The defence argued that Arce Mosqueira met all procedural requirements and that, being innocent, he should be allowed to defend himself at liberty.
Arce Mosqueira himself reiterated his innocence on several occasions during the hearing and characterised the charges against him as politically motivated.
The Prosecution's formal charge is based, amongst other elements, on a report from the Financial Investigation Unit (UIF). According to that report, Arce Mosqueira had accumulated at least 18 immovable properties and 20 vehicles in his name, and had registered two transactions considered unusual between 2022 and 2024, for amounts exceeding Bs 300,000 and Bs 500,000 respectively. For the Public Ministry, these data form part of the body of investigative acts that led to the formal charge against the son of the former ruler.
Source: El Deber