Mabel Andrade assumes role as departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz following Zeballos's arrest
Mabel Andrade Molina was sworn in as prosecutor of Santa Cruz hours after the arrest of Alberto Zeballos and general prosecutor Róger Mariaca at Viru Viru airport.
New prosecutor heads Santa Cruz Public Ministry following major operation
Mabel Andrade Molina was sworn in as departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz in the hours following the arrest of Alberto Zeballos, according to El Deber. The operation also resulted in the capture of Róger Mariaca, who served as general prosecutor of the State of Bolivia.
Andrade, who assumes the role as Zeballos's substitute, stated that she would continue institutional work. With more than three decades of experience in the Public Ministry, she identified herself as the senior prosecutor of the Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Santa Cruz.
"I have just been sworn in. We are here to work; I have practically been an institutionalised prosecutor for more than 30 years and for me this is a new experience. I am here because of my seniority as I am the senior prosecutor of the departmental prosecutor's office of Santa Cruz," Andrade said in her first appearance as the new head of the body.
The official reaffirmed her commitment to the legality of investigations and the defence of society's interests. "Each authority has their own way of working. I am going to implement my way of working, I say to you again, I am an institutionalised prosecutor. It is many years, more than 30 years that I have worked as a servant of the Public Ministry and we are here to continue working in service of our society," she reiterated.
Zeballos's arrest took place on the night of Wednesday, 30 September at Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz. In the early hours of Thursday, 1 October, the offices of the Public Ministry located on Beni passage, between Aroma and Beni streets, near the first ring of the Santa Cruz capital, were also subject to attention by the authorities.
Source: El Deber