Tarija demands resignation of prosecutor Mariaca after US visa revocation
Deputies and political leaders from Tarija are calling for prosecutor Róger Mariaca to step down from office. The United States revoked his visa over alleged links to drug trafficking.
Pressure from Tarija on prosecutor Mariaca over drug trafficking links
Deputies and political leaders from Tarija agree that State Prosecutor General Róger Mariaca should step down from office to ensure investigations are conducted transparently, according to El Deber. The trigger: the United States government revoked his visa, linking him to the collection of bribes to facilitate drug trafficking.
"The prosecutor, out of dignity, should step down from office so that the investigation is transparent," declared Edgar Guzmán, national leader of the Revolutionary Front of the Left (FRI). Guzmán added that the State's institutions are the appropriate body to request documentation from Washington to support the accusations.
Deputy Rodrigo Fuenzalida agreed with this position: Mariaca should step aside to avoid interfering in investigations that will begin in the coming days. In his view, if the United States revoked his visa, it is because it already has the evidence that the Bolivian Foreign Ministry had requested.
Adrián Ávila, former president of the Committee for the Interests of Tarija, noted that the Plurinational Legislative Assembly has requested the authority's resignation in case a formal investigation is opened. "The allegation will have to be investigated because the United States has a serious government and I do not believe it did so recklessly. Corruption and drug trafficking have become embedded everywhere," Ávila stated.
Deputy of Alliance Unity, Karina Liebers, argued that from an integral perspective of criminal law, it is reasonable that Mariaca exercise his defence whilst removed from office to avoid suspicions. According to Liebers, a possible investigation would not stem from a report from another country, but from a principle of transparency inherent to a state of law: whoever feels accused will have the opportunity to defend themselves before the courts.
The leadership of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly called for a session on Monday in which a special commission will be formed to begin the investigation into prosecutor Mariaca.
Source: El Deber