President of Bolivia's Supreme Court flees country after drug-trafficking arrest warrant
Romer Saucedo, head of Bolivia's Supreme Court of Justice, fled on Thursday following the issuance of an arrest warrant for drug trafficking. The Public Ministry will activate Interpol.
Head of Bolivian Supreme Court flees after narco-trafficking arrest order
Romer Saucedo, president of Bolivia's Supreme Court of Justice — the country's highest common law court — fled on Thursday (5) after an arrest warrant was issued against him for trafficking in controlled substances and criminal association. According to www1.folha.uol.com.br, the Bolivian Public Ministry announced that it would request a red alert from Interpol for his international search.
In the morning, Saucedo announced his flight via social network X. "I have left the country, I am with my entire family in exile," he wrote. The 38-year-old judge claimed to be suffering persecution from the government of centre-right president Rodrigo Paz and denounced "attempts at persecution and intimidation". "I know they will forge evidence to discredit me," he added.
Acting Attorney General José Armando Urioste, appointed by Congress following the detention of former Attorney General Roger Mariaca, confirmed to the press that the arrest order had been issued the previous day. Urioste did not detail Saucedo's specific involvement in the crimes, but stated that investigations "will proceed" under secrecy, as they involve the cooperation of "protected witnesses".
The authorities are unaware of Saucedo's exact whereabouts. Migration records show that he entered Bolivia on Tuesday (3), but there is no record of his departure through official systems. The Public Ministry suspects that he left the country by land. "We must activate these international alerts to prevent him from leaving or entering Bolivia," said Urioste.
Flight linked to Mariaca case
Vice Minister of the Interior Peter Maldonado stated that Saucedo's flight is related to the case of former Attorney General Mariaca. "Many of Mariaca's accomplices and criminals are fleeing," he declared to the local press. The former Attorney General is accused by the United States government of receiving bribes "to facilitate drug trafficking and help violent criminals escape justice".
Since October, several high-ranking officials of the Bolivian judicial system have been detained for alleged links to drug trafficking. Among them is Mariaca himself, arrested days after the United States cancelled his visa and those of other officials and businesspeople from Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.
President Paz, who was in Spain for the Ibero-American Summit on Wednesday (4), said that Saucedo "leaves the country because there is a series of accusations or investigations into our judicial system model".
Court appoints interim president
On Wednesday afternoon, judges of the Supreme Court appointed the court's senior judge, Rosmery Ruiz, as interim president due to Saucedo's "temporary absence". Should the magistrate fail to present himself to the court within the next six days, he could lose his post.
In Bolivia, the country's highest judicial authorities are elected by popular vote. Saucedo had won in Santa Cruz with more than 700,000 votes in an election held at the end of 2024 and, one month later, was chosen by his peers to preside over the court.
The Paz government, about to complete its first year in office, is seeking closer ties with Washington. In March, the country joined the Shield of the Americas, a regional alliance led by the Donald Trump government to combat transnational organised crime.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo