Altered marijuana in 32 suitcases: minister points to former prosecutor and head of Supreme Court
Minister Oviedo revealed that the 32 suitcases that entered Viru Viru on 29 November contained chemically altered marijuana with high value in Brazil.
Suitcase Case: altered marijuana and two high-ranking authorities under scrutiny
The 32 suitcases that entered irregularly into Viru Viru international airport on 29 November 2025 contained marijuana subjected to a process of chemical alteration, with a high commercial value in the Brazilian market. According to El Deber, Government Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo made this revelation on Friday and pointed to former Attorney General Róger Mariaca and the president of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), Rómer Saucedo, as presumed responsible for organising, financing and transporting the shipment into the country.
"The suitcases contained chemically altered marijuana that has a very high value in the Brazilian market," Oviedo stated to the press.
The minister's statements came following expanded testimony from former deputy Laura Rojas and former judge Hebert Zeballos, two of the main individuals implicated in the so-called Suitcase case. Both are said to have identified Mariaca and Saucedo as those responsible for the operation. "In their expanded statements, Ms. Laura Rojas and the former judge said that both are the ones who organised, financed and transported the entry of these suitcases into Bolivian territory," Oviedo maintained.
The shipment arrived in Bolivia aboard a private aircraft from California, United States. The pilot received instructions to change the flight destination and land at San Ramón airport, but refused, and the aircraft finally arrived at Viru Viru, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
The baggage remained deposited at airport facilities. The following day, Rojas and Zeballos retrieved it through a company linked to the former judge. The suitcases were subsequently transferred to a property related to Zeballos, where the trace of the merchandise was lost.
Oviedo acknowledged that there are still no precise details about the final destination of the substance or about the persons who would have received the merchandise after its entry into the country. These aspects are to be established through the expansion of investigations, currently in charge of the Public Ministry.
According to the Government's hypothesis, Mariaca would have organised the flight and financed the contents of the baggage, in addition to managing its entry into Bolivia. Saucedo, for his part, would have provided institutional protection to those involved in the operation.
Source: El Deber