Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Bolivia prosecutors seek to hold opposition leader in jail, protests threatened

Bolivia prosecutors seek to hold opposition leader in jail, protests threatened

Bolivian prosecutors are requesting six months of pre-trial detention for right-wing opposition Governor Luis Fernando Camacho in connection to 2019 political turmoil, state prosecutor Omar Mejillones said Thursday.
Camacho was arrested on Wednesday and taken to political capital La Paz, escalating tensions between his wealthy agricultural base in the region of Santa Cruz and the national government.

Civic groups in Santa Cruz are demanding Camacho's immediate release and have called for a general strike on Friday and for highways to be blockaded.

Prosecutors have charged Camacho with "terrorism" and are also investigating allegations including breach of duty, misuse of influence and attacks on the president and high-ranking state dignitaries, Mejillones said.

The charges are connected to the ouster of former leftist President Evo Morales in November 2019. Morales had declared victory in a disputed presidential election that would have given him a fourth straight term but ended up fleeing the country amid fiery protests, some of which were led by Camacho.

More recently, Camacho, who finished third in the 2020 presidential contest, has backed protests in Santa Cruz demanding the national government proceed with a delayed census, which would likely give his region more tax revenues and seats in Congress.

In a statement, Camacho said the accusations against him lacked truth and credibility, and his lawyer Juan Carlos Camacho said he had been "unjustly" detained.
On Thursday, Camacho's Twitter account said that authorities had prevented his lawyers from filing a constitutional recourse

to free him. A video attached to the tweet alleged his constitutional rights had been breached and that he had been "kidnapped" and taken illegally to La Paz.

Mejillones said Thursday he had "no knowledge" of the lawyers' allegations of being unable to file the recourse.

The state attorney's office has denied the arrest was either a kidnapping or politically motivated.

UNEASY CALM

Most governments across the region were largely silent on the issue Thursday, though the United States said it was aware of Camacho's arrest and monitoring developments.

"We encourage observance of international norms and reliance on democratic institutions. We urge all parties to resolve this issue peacefully and democratically," said a State Department spokesperson.

Former President Morales said on Wednesday he hoped Camacho's detention would bring justice after three years.

"Luis Fernando Camacho will answer for the coup d'etat that led to robberies, persecutions, arrests and massacres of the de facto government," Morales tweeted.

Former President Carlos Mesa, an ally of Camacho's who ran against Morales in the 2019 election, told Reuters the case stemmed from "a monumental electoral fraud carried out by Evo Morales" and that the terrorism charge "does not make any sense."

Meanwhile, a group of Bolivian lawmakers from Camacho's Creemos party sent a letter to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights calling for precautionary measures to protect Camacho's "safety and integrity."

There was an uneasy calm Thursday in Santa Cruz, where signs of damage were visible after protests Wednesday ended with the Santa Cruz prosecutor's headquarters set on fire.

Public Works Minister Edgar Montano said on Twitter his house in Santa Cruz had been set on fire and robbed. Two people were arrested in relation to the incident, Montano said, adding that Camacho and his allies would be "responsible for anything that might happen" to him or his family.

The federal prosecutor's office said it would seek the "harshest punishment" possible for those responsible for damage in Santa Cruz.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×