President of Bolivia's Supreme Court flees into exile over drug trafficking
Romer Saucedo abandoned Bolivia following an arrest warrant for trafficking in controlled substances. Interpol could issue a red notice for his search.
Flight of Bolivia's highest judge shakes the judicial system
The president of Bolivia's Supreme Court of Justice, Romer Saucedo, aged 38, left the country and declared himself in exile on Wednesday, hours before the prosecution confirmed an arrest warrant against him for trafficking in controlled substances and criminal association, according to rfi.fr.
"I have left the country, I am with my entire family in exile," Saucedo wrote on the social media platform X on Wednesday morning. In the same message, he denounced "attempts at persecution and intimidation" by the government of Rodrigo Paz, and warned: "I know they are going to plant evidence to discredit me."
In the afternoon, interim prosecutor general José Armando Urioste confirmed to the media that his office had issued an arrest warrant against Saucedo the previous day. Urioste did not specify the magistrate's concrete participation in the crimes under investigation, but stated that proceedings "will continue their course" in a confidential manner, with the collaboration of protected witnesses. The authorities are unaware of the judge's whereabouts.
Urioste added that his office would request a red notice from Interpol. "We need to activate these international alerts to prevent him from leaving or entering Bolivia," he stated.
Chain of detentions since October
Saucedo's flight comes in the context of weeks of judicial purge. Since October, several high-ranking officials from Bolivia's justice system have been detained on suspicion of links to drug trafficking. Among them is former prosecutor general Roger Mariaca, arrested days after the United States cancelled his visa and those of other officials and businessmen from Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.
Washington accuses Mariaca of receiving bribes "to facilitate drug trafficking and help violent criminals evade justice." Vice-minister of Internal Affairs, Peter Maldonado, directly linked Saucedo's flight to that case: "Many of Mariaca's accomplices and criminals are fleeing," he told the local press.
President Rodrigo Paz, who was in Spain for a business meeting ahead of the Ibero-American Summit, stated on Wednesday that Saucedo "is leaving the country because there are a series of accusations or investigations concerning our judicial system model."
Provisional replacement and six-day deadline
Following Saucedo's absence, judges of the Supreme Court designated the dean of the court, Rosmery Ruiz, as interim president. If the fugitive magistrate does not appear within the next six days, he could permanently lose his position.
Saucedo had been elected by the Santa Cruz constituency with more than 700,000 votes in the elections in late 2024—Bolivia elects its high judicial authorities by popular vote—and a month later his peers designated him to preside over the court.
Paz's government, which is approaching its first year in power, has strengthened its position vis-à-vis Washington. In March, it joined the Shield of the Americas, a regional alliance against transnational organised crime led by the Trump administration.
Source: Google News BO — Crime