Bolivia judge orders pre-trial detention for opposition head
Published:Friday | December 30, 2022 | 11:17 AM
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A judge in Bolivia sentenced opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho to four months of pretrial detention on terrorism charges early Friday, a move that is bound to increase divisions and unrest in the country.
After a virtual hearing that lasted more than seven hours, Judge Sergio Pacheco ordered Camacho, who is also the governor of the Santa Cruz region, to be remanded in custody, agreeing with prosecutors that he was a flight risk and could obstruct an ongoing investigation.
Shortly after the ruling, video showed Camacho getting transferred to a high-security prison in Bolivia's capital, La Paz, as the governor's lawyers vowed to appeal.
By the time the judge issued his ruling, a 24-hour strike called for by Camacho's allies in Santa Cruz had started and road blockades were set up throughout the wealthy region that is widely considered to be Bolivia's economic engine.
The judge rejected claims by Camacho's lawyers that the governor's detention was illegal.
“I'll never give up on this fight for Bolivia's democracy,” Camacho said during the virtual hearing that took place while he was held in a jail cell at a La Paz police station.
“To the Bolivian people I say, we can't let them impose a dictatorship like in Venezuela and Cuba.”
Camacho, leader of the opposition alliance Creemos (“We Believe”), was detained Wednesday on terrorism charges and taken to La Paz, a move that sparked protests that led to clashes with law enforcement and several public offices and cars being set on fire. A minister in President Luis Arce's administration also said his house was set on fire.
Allies of the right-wing opposition leader had characterised the detention as a “kidnapping,” claims that prosecutors rejected.
Protesters also took to the streets celebrating Camacho's arrest, calling it a key step to get justice for the victims of the 2019 political unrest that led to the resignation of then-President Evo Morales.
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