Reuters
source: Reuters
Bolivia’s Attorney General Roger Mariaca has been arrested two days after the United States revoked his visa and accused him of accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking, the country’s Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said on Thursday.
Mariaca was arrested along with 13 other people on Wednesday as part of an operation targeting what authorities described as a “criminal organization” embedded within the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Oviedo told a press conference.
The operation followed the circulation of a video and audio recordings attributed to suspected Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastian Marset.
“A criminal organization embedded in the justice system and in the administration of a very important institution in our country, the Public Ministry, has been dismantled,” Oviedo said. He alleged that the network, led by Mariaca, worked to protect and facilitate drug trafficking activities in Bolivia.
Marset was captured in Bolivia in March and later transferred to the US, where he awaits trial.
Authorities launched the operation after the release of material in which Marset allegedly referred to Mariaca as a “friend” and claimed he had paid $500,000 to remain in Bolivia and continue his operations.
