Bolivian Attorney General arrested for money laundering and drug trafficking
Roger Mariaca, Bolivia's attorney general, was detained on Wednesday at Santa Cruz airport amid suspicions of links to drug trafficking. His arrest comes after he was placed on a US blacklist and a purported dismantling of a criminal network within the prosecutor's office.
Arrest of head of Bolivian prosecutor's office
According to actu.orange.fr, Roger Mariaca, attorney general of Bolivia, was arrested Wednesday evening at Santa Cruz airport. Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo announced that the charges against him relate to "money laundering and illicit trafficking of narcotics". Mariaca was detained at the same time as departmental prosecutor Alberto Zevallos.
The Bolivian government claims to have dismantled a "criminal organisation" within the attorney general's office. Oviedo stated during a press conference that "the Bolivian attorney general's office, led by Roger Mariaca, had become a criminal organisation designed to promote and protect narcoterrorism". In total, four prosecutors, six employees of the attorney general's office and four other individuals were arrested in the operation.
Discovery of funds at his residence
During the night following the arrest, four people attempted to leave Mariaca's home with cash in an ambulance. The Interior Ministry reported that bundles of Bolivian and American currency totalling approximately 300,000 dollars were found in the vehicle. Investigators did not specify the suspected source of these funds.
Context of US blacklisting
Mariaca and Zevallos had been placed on a blacklist by the US Department of State on Monday, alongside judges and officials from other Andean countries accused of corruption or links to drug trafficking. According to Washington, Mariaca received "bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and help violent criminals escape justice".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised on X "Bolivia's actions (which) demonstrate the type of leadership necessary to make our hemisphere safer, stronger and more prosperous". Minister Oviedo clarified that the operation had been conducted with "cooperation from the US government through its agencies".
Earlier accusations concerning a drug baron
When Mariaca was prosecutor in Santa Cruz in 2023, Uruguayan drug baron Sebastian Marset was arrested and then released, whilst his confiscated assets were returned to him. Marset was arrested again in March and extradited to the United States. According to Oviedo, the drug trafficker had stated that Mariaca was "his friend" and that he "protected him".
Mariaca had initially denied the charges against him, describing them as "interference" and "political pressure" related to his investigations. His lawyer Romel Ipamo told local media that his client "will cooperate fully", requesting that "proper procedure be observed".
Succession at head of prosecutor's office
Luis Montaño Morales is now serving as interim replacement for Mariaca at the head of the attorney general's office. However, the government has refused to recognise this appointment, deeming it illegal. Presidential spokesperson José Luis Galvez stated that Montaño was "wanted" and "would be arrested", without clarifying the legal basis for this announcement.
Parliament is to hold an emergency session on Friday to attempt to appoint a new attorney general. Bolivia, led since November by centre-right president Rodrigo Paz, has recently joined the "Americas Shield", a coalition of around fifteen countries under the leadership of the Trump administration to combat drug trafficking in the region.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)