Detention of Mariaca: four key aspects according to constitutional lawyer
Lawyer William Herrera pointed out to El Deber four peculiarities of the operation that resulted in the arrest of prosecutor Róger Mariaca and 14 people linked to Uruguayan drug lord Sebastián Marset.
Four unprecedented points in the operation against prosecutor Mariaca
Constitutional lawyer William Herrera identified four singular elements in the operation that concluded with the detention of State General Prosecutor, Róger Mariaca, and at least 14 people with ties to Uruguayan crime boss Sebastián Marset, according to reporting by El Deber.
The first is the unprecedented nature of the case. "It is an unprecedented case, I believe there has been nothing like this before, I do not recall in the republican history that the State General Prosecutor has been detained, so we are facing a very special situation," Herrera stated in a conversation with El Deber. At the same time, the specialist affirmed that the arrest is legal "given that there has been a series of events that have been occurring".
The second particularity is the money found in Mariaca's residence and, subsequently, in the house of his aide-de-camp. Both discoveries, Herrera noted, further aggravated the situation of the detained prosecutor, although they occurred after the arrest and within the framework of a direct police action.
The third element is precisely that sphere of direct police action, something that Herrera characterised as special within this type of institutional procedures.
The fourth particularity—and the one that generated the most debate—is the question of succession. Herrera criticised the self-appointment of Luis Montaño as interim general prosecutor and noted that the Organic Law of the Public Ministry, in its article 25, clearly establishes who should assume the position in case of temporary or permanent absence of the office holder.
"The replacement, in this case, corresponds to, and historically it has been thus, the departmental prosecutor of Chuquisaca for a matter of proximity, because it has always been established thus and if there were not one from Chuquisaca, only then does the most senior enter," the lawyer explained. That position corresponds to Alexander Mendoza, who is out of the country, according to sources from Sucre.
Herrera also ruled out that President Rodrigo Paz has the power to appoint an interim prosecutor by decree whilst the Assembly elects a new one.
Mariaca had been sworn in as general prosecutor on 24 October 2024 with a mandate until October 2030. He did not even complete two years in office and his removal is already anticipated.
Source: El Deber