Police intervene in prosecutors' offices in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Chuquisaca following arrest of Mariaca
Bolivia's police force made a surprise intervention in prosecutors' offices in three departments following the apprehension of Attorney General Roger Mariaca, who has been blacklisted by the United States for drug trafficking.
Simultaneous police intervention in three prosecutors' offices following Mariaca's apprehension
Armed Bolivian police officers took control of the prosecutors' office facilities in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Chuquisaca on Wednesday night, according to eju.tv. The action took place hours after the apprehension of the State Attorney General, Roger Mariaca, and the departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz, Alberto Zeballos, who were detained at Viru Viru international airport when they arrived on a flight from Sucre.
In La Paz, police commander Ricardo César Terrazas del Pozo headed the operation. "We have instructions to provide security," the police chief declared in the early hours of Thursday, clarifying that there were no arrests and that officials could enter and leave the building. However, anti-narcotics prosecutor Daniel Portales, who presented himself at the La Paz headquarters at the end of Wednesday, asserted that no one showed him any order and that he was not permitted to enter.
In Sucre, after 23:00, the police raid interrupted a live broadcast in which officials from the State Attorney General's Office were speaking about Mariaca's detention. A communications official from the Chuquisaca Prosecutor's Office publicly denounced the action: "We report to the entire Bolivian population this intervention that is being carried out in an illegal and informal manner". The same official noted that Mariaca had been detained at Viru Viru airport "without any document or arrest warrant". After the broadcast ended, the officials present were arrested by police.
In Santa Cruz, also after 23:00 on Wednesday, the offices of the departmental prosecutor's office were under police protection.
The background to the arrests has international scope. On Monday, the United States Department of State published a list of Bolivian officials and former officials blacklisted by the Donald Trump administration. According to the statement, Mariaca "abused his public positions by requesting and accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and help violent criminals evade justice". The statement concludes: "Corrupt foreign officials can no longer enter the United States freely".
Source: Google News BO — La Paz