Bolivian Supreme Court President flees country citing threat to his life
Romer Saucedo, president of Bolivia's Supreme Court of Justice, left the country with his family and accused the Government of fabricating cases against him.
Bolivian magistrate leaves country and reports political persecution
Romer Saucedo, president of Bolivia's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), left the country with his family on Wednesday, according to teletica.com. In an extensive message posted on his social networks, the magistrate claimed that his freedom and that of his family "are in danger" and accused the Government of attempting to fabricate cases against him in order to "discredit him".
"My freedom and the lives of my entire family are in danger. Legal guarantees have ended: political power has turned justice once again into a revolving door that exercises preventive detention as a rule against those who do not agree with them, and it does not hesitate either to hire hitmen and silence people with death," Saucedo wrote.
The magistrate asserted that he left the country without having any open criminal proceedings against him, but warned that "they will begin soon". According to Saucedo, "narratives are being constructed based on lies" and he anticipated that his adversaries "will plant evidence" to harm him, without offering further details in this regard.
The dispute between Saucedo and the Executive has been ongoing for months. In July, the magistrate announced his intention to resign from the presidency of the TSJ amid a conflict with the Government of Rodrigo Paz over the judicial branch's budget, even going so far as to threaten a strike by the body. On 15 October he formally submitted his resignation from the tribunal presidency, effective in January 2027, although in his post on Wednesday he clarified that he will continue to serve as a magistrate.
Saucedo also pointed criticism at the previous government, that of Luis Arce (2020–2025), stating that his "directness and sincerity in speaking his mind caused displeasure from the outset", and claimed that the current authorities have undertaken "a systematic and gradual attack" against him.
The magistrate cited the murder of the dean of the Agroenvironmental Court, Víctor Hugo Claure, as a point of reference for the risks he faces. Claure was shot dead by unidentified persons on 30 April. Four people were detained as suspected perpetrators, but the case was declared confidential and no further progress in the investigation has been made public. Saucedo contended that Claure was murdered "because he affected the interests of corrupt individuals" and that "those who continue to cover up that fact to this day are complicit".
"I do not want the same thing to happen to me, which is why I prefer to leave," said the magistrate, who added that he will return to the country "when conditions have changed" and his freedom and his life "cease to be in danger".
There are no open criminal cases against Saucedo and no formal complaints have been filed against him. Two weeks before his departure, Saucedo participated alongside President Paz in an official ceremony for the promulgation of a law that will allow the judicial branch to transfer unclaimed judicial funds within a five-year period.
Source: Google News BO — Crime