Sokol left office without detaining Evo: his lawyer says he awaited a political signal
The former commander of Bolivia's police force resigned without executing two outstanding arrest warrants against Evo Morales. His lawyer claims Sokol was waiting for a political signal from the Executive.
Sokol leaves police without having captured Morales
Mirko Sokol resigned from the position of commander-general of the Bolivian Police after nine months in office, without having executed two outstanding arrest warrants against former president Evo Morales. According to El Deber, his lawyer Abel Loma acknowledged that the institution has "the duty and obligation to execute the arrest warrants", but noted that the Morales case presents a "particular" situation.
Loma explained that this particularity lay in the risk of a possible "armed confrontation" with the people permanently guarding Morales in the Tropic of Cochabamba, with "high probability of casualties" in the event of an attempted capture.
"General Sokol was waiting for the political will of a political order from the Casa Grande del Pueblo, from the president of the State, from the government minister, who should have led the execution of the arrest warrant," the lawyer stated in an interview with RTP.
Sokol's own position had already been exposed in early August, when, asked whether the failure to detain Morales represented a failure of his administration, he responded: "No, because in reality it is not a priority within the role of Commander-General".
Morales faces arrest warrants for alleged human trafficking and for his role in the 53-day crisis involving road blockades.
Source: El Deber