Right Wing Opposition Leader’s Unlawful Arrest Marks ‘Disturbing Turn’ in Bolivia’s Democracy

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia—The pavement at a busy city intersection is charred black. Chunks of tires and shards of metal remain from protest fires and violent clashes between police and demonstrators who demanded the release of governor Luis Fernando Camacho on Jan. 2.

The nation’s ruling government—the Movement for Socialism or MAS party—arrested Santa Cruz’s right-wing governor on Dec. 28 for his alleged involvement in the explosive 2019 protests.

That year, nationwide demonstrations erupted after the presidential election when officials detected irregularities during the voting process. The resultant civilian protests forced former socialist President Evo Morales to flee the country and resign from office.

And now Camacho—a key opposition leader since the 2019 protests—is being held in a maximum security prison without trial.

Since the governor’s arrest by La Paz-based MAS prosecutors on Dec. 28, the department of Santa Cruz has been awash in protests and road blockades positioned at strategic points on major highways.

Yet beyond the long-simmering rivalry between right and left-wing political groups, some locals say it’s the way authorities arrested Camacho that sparked the wave of demonstrations.

En route to his home, a special police task force surprised the governor in his vehicle.

Men wearing balaclava masks smashed the windows of Camacho’s car before dragging him into the street and shoving him into a white van.

The governor was immediately transported to Viru Viru international airport for what attorneys are calling an illegal transfer to La Paz.

Camacho’s lawyer, his cousin, and an unidentified civilian attempted to stop the governor’s extradition to La Paz at the airport, but the same masked men managed to block their car at the freeway offramp.

Harrowing footage of the attempted rescue leaked to the local press on Dec. 28 shows tear gas canisters fired directly into the civilian vehicle.

The cell phone camera drops and the sound of a man choking can be heard while law enforcement is shouting in the background.

Less than an hour after the video went viral, a crowd of supporters flooded the tarmac at Viru Viru in an attempt to stop Camacho’s extradition to La Paz.

Santa Cruz officials and residents were quick to denounce the arrest, which many compared to tactics used by controversial Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“It’s a disturbing turn in our democracy,” attorney Manuel Flores told The Epoch Times.

Constitutional Rights Violated

“There’s what we call ‘fair process’ here [in Bolivia] and it wasn’t followed,” Flores said.

Flores works as a criminal lawyer in Santa Cruz and explained both due process and constitutional rights were violated when police arrested Camacho.

“First, the prosecutor from La Paz didn’t have any legal power to arrest Camacho in Santa Cruz,” Flores said. “The prosecutor in Santa Department had to issue the arrest warrant and also give permission for La Paz to transport Camacho to another department.”

Other legal violations Flores mentioned include the use of excessive force by the police and Camacho’s detainment without an attorney for more than eight hours.

“If you’re detained for longer than eight hours without a lawyer or even the prosecutor there, you automatically have to be released. But that’s not what happened,” Flores said.

The legal term is “liberty action.” It’s a stipulation within Bolivian laws that allows the release of an accused individual if a violation of rights occurred during the arrest or initial detainment.

When Camacho’s legal team arrived in La Paz, more than eight hours later, they argued that “liberty action” applied to this case. However, the La Paz prosecutor denied the request.

The MAS prosecutor sentenced the governor of Santa Cruz to four months of preventative detention in the country’s worst maximum security prison: San Pedro de Chonchocoro.

Flores shook his head. “It’s a terrible place, the worst prison in the country,” he said, then added, “Chonchocoro is becoming a concentration camp for opposition leaders and people the government [MAS] fear.”

Santa Cruz legislator Zvonko Matkovic Rivera told CNN, “A governor has been kidnapped,” and called Camacho’s arrest violent and abusive.

However, MAS party members say Camacho’s apprehension was necessary. During a press conference, minister Carlos Eduardo del Castillo announced he has 33 pieces of evidence linking the now incarcerated governor to bribery of military officials during the 2019 protests.

Castillo further commended the work of the Bolivian police for their “remarkable work” in trying to restore order in the city of Santa Cruz.

Political Witch Hunt?

“It’s a struggle for power. The 2019 protests were just an excuse,” a Santa Cruz lawyer who preferred to be identified solely as Rodrigo for security reasons, told The Epoch Times.

Rodrigo says the MAS views Santa Cruz—in general—as a threat. It’s an easy assessment to make, considering more than half of the country’s food and nearly all of the nation’s oil and gas resources are in the Santa Cruz department.

So when you throw in outspoken, anti-MAS political figures like Camacho, it’s a recipe for rebellion too big for the government to ignore.

Calling the governor’s apprehension a “witch hunt,” Rodrigo said it was a warning to the rest of Santa Cruz. “It’s meant to show they can go after anyone.”

And it’s not the first time the entrenched socialist government has targeted people they view as a threat to their power.

Back in 2009, former President Evo Morales issued a decree allowing the detention and trial of anyone deemed a “terrorist” to take place in the government capital of La Paz, regardless of where the criminal activity took place.

Weaponized Decree

The decree arrived after the notorious Hotel Las Americas debacle that year.

In 2009, MAS intelligence agents identified two non-politically affiliated Bolivian men with paintball guns in Santa Cruz as a potential threat to the new Morales regime.

Police stormed the hotel where they were staying and opened fire, killing multiple innocent, unarmed tourists in the process.

Three of the victims were foreigners. Law enforcement arrested the two Bolivian men in question, who the MAS promptly declared “terrorists”. Police transferred the men to the same prison as Camacho, Chonchocoro, for preventative detention.

At the time, paintball guns were relatively unknown in Bolivia, a country where civilian-owned firearms are illegal with few exceptions.

Despite the embarrassing mistake, the MAS stuck to their guns and claimed the men were part of an assassination plot against Morales. The men were sent to prison in Chonchocoro. The now famous court case, known locally as Terrorist I and Terrorist II, set a precedent for anyone deemed a threat to the ruling government.

But there’s a significant problem with the 2009 decree: it’s completely illegal.

Rodrigo pointed out Article 49 of the country’s penal code, which states that accused persons must face trial and imprisonment in the department where the alleged crime happened.

“But they [MAS] still use the 2009 decree as a weapon against the opposition,” Rodrigo said.

He also believes that arresting Camacho was something Morales never managed to accomplish, so his successor—President Luis Arce—wanted it as a proverbial feather in his hat. This is especially important since Arce faces divided support within his own political party.

Ministers and legislators who benefited under the Morales regime would prefer to see the former head of state resume the nation’s helm.

In the meantime, demonstrations continue throughout the department of Santa Cruz.

In the past week, protestors near the landmark Cristo Redentor have faced tear gas attacks and aggressive arrests by local police. Some locals have reported local police are holding family members arrested on the streets in jail for cash ransoms.

With a note of sadness, Rodrigo added, “They’re trying to silence us and justify their violence.”