Prosecutor's office investigates bribes to legislators over Mariaca's general prosecutor election
The General Prosecutor's office opened an ex-officio investigation into alleged payments to legislators to favour the election of Róger Mariaca. The former prosecutor is held in preventive detention in Potosí.
Ex-officio investigation into bribes linked to former prosecutor Mariaca's election
The General Prosecutor's office of the State initiated an ex-officio investigation to clarify alleged payments to national legislators in exchange for votes in favour of Róger Mariaca as general prosecutor, reported El Deber on Friday. The announcement was made by interim general prosecutor Armando Urioste, who confirmed that the case was declared a priority following disclosure of the accusations through the media.
"We are initiating the ex-officio investigation," said Urioste. The objective, he explained, is to determine whether there were irregularities that compromised the election of the highest authority of the Public Ministry. If the payments are confirmed, the facts could constitute the offences of active and passive bribery.
The investigation will also cover former legislators and will seek to trace the flow of money, including possible extraordinary income recorded on dates linked to the election. Urioste anticipated that he will request cooperation from the Executive Branch to obtain information on asset investigations that will allow him to cross-reference the data gathered.
The denunciation by Vice-Minister Maldonado
The accusation was lodged on Thursday by the vice-minister of Internal Affairs and Police, Peter Maldonado, who alleged that Mariaca would have secured the position through payment of bribes to legislators. Maldonado linked his statements to inquiries into alleged connections of the former prosecutor with a criminal structure related to drug trafficking.
Mariaca was removed from office and is serving six months of preventive detention in Cantumarca prison in Potosí.
Legislators demand evidence and impartiality
The accusations generated reactions in the Legislative Assembly. Legislators from different political forces called for concrete evidence to be presented and for the investigation to be conducted objectively.
Deputy Manolo Rojas, of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), declared himself open to a rigorous investigation, but emphasised that any responsibility must be proven before being taken as fact. Deputy Rafael López, of Libre, maintained that the alleged payments should be clarified and that, if it is established that parliamentarians received money from a criminal organisation, the appropriate proceedings should be activated.
Senator José Manuel Ormachea, also of Libre, stated that his bloc is prepared to be investigated. The vice-president of the State and ex-officio president of the Legislative Assembly, Edmand Lara, asked Maldonado to specify which blocs or legislators would be involved and to support his statements with evidence.
Deputy Rodrigo Antonio Loma requested, for his part, that the denunciation be formalised before the Public Ministry or referred to the Legislative ethics commission.
Source: El Deber