Bolivian law enforcement officials on Wednesday arrested former Bolivian president Luis Arce as part of a corruption investigation, a month after the inauguration of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz ended 20 years of socialist rule.
A senior official in Paz’s government, Marco Antonio Oviedo, told reporters that Arce had been arrested on charges of breach of duty and financial misconduct related to the alleged embezzlement of public funds during his time as minister of economic affairs in the government of former Bolivian president Evo Morales from 2006 to 2019.
A special police force dedicated to fighting corruption told reporters that Arce was in custody at the unit’s headquarters in Bolivia’s capital of La Paz.
Photo: AFP
Officials described Arce’s arrest as proof of the new government’s commitment to fighting graft at the highest levels in fulfillment of its flagship campaign promise.
“It is the decision of this government to fight corruption, and we will arrest all those responsible for this massive embezzlement,” Oviedo said.
Arce’s allies said his arrest was unjustified and smacked of political persecution.
Authorities accused Arce and other officials of diverting an estimated US$700 million from a state-run fund dedicated to supporting indigenous people and peasant farmers who formed the backbone of Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism party.
As Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Morales transformed the country’s power structure and gave indigenous people more sway.
Serving on the board of directors of the Indigenous Peasant Development Fund from 2006 to 2017, Arce was in charge of allocating funds to social development projects in rural areas.
During that time, officials allege, Arce siphoned off some of that money for personal expenses.
“Arce was identified as the main person responsible for this vast economic damage,” Oviedo said.
Bolivian Attorney General Roger Mariaca told local media that Arce had invoked his right to remain silent during police questioning.
Arce would remain in police custody overnight before being brought before a judge to determine whether he would remain detained pending trial, Mariaca said.
The charges against Arce carry a maximum sentence of four to six years in prison.
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