Bolivia’s Attorney General Arrested at Viru Viru Airport Following US Sanctions and Escudo de las Americas Alignment
Bolivian Attorney General Roger Mariaca was arrested late Wednesday at the Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, two days after the United States included him in a list of sanctioned officials. The apprehension follows accusations that he received bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and help violent criminals evade justice. The administration of President Rodrigo Paz joined the regional security bloc Escudo de las Americas in March 2026.
Bolivian Government Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo informed that the operations left 14 detainees, including Mariaca and Santa Cruz departmental prosecutor Alberto Zeballos, also sanctioned by Washington. Oviedo stated that authorities dismantled a criminal organization within the Ministerio Publico, allegedly headed by Mariaca and intended to protect narco-terrorism. According to Oviedo, the authorities desmantelaron una “organización criminal enquistada en la Justicia y en la administración” of the Ministerio Público, supposedly “encabezada por Roger Mariaca” and “destinada a incentivar y proteger el narcoterrorismo en el país.” The Executive attributes to him the alleged crimes of criminal organization, legitimization of illicit gains, and illicit trafficking of controlled substances.
The Geopolitical Friction Between Independent Prosecution and Executive Authority
The action against the prosecutor highlights an alliance between La Paz and Washington under the banner of the Escudo de las Americas. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on X that the Trump Administration backs the president and the democratically elected government of Bolivia in its actions to combat narco-trafficking, systemic corruption, and transnational organized crime. La Administración Trump se mantiene firmemente junto al Presidente Rodrigo Paz y al gobierno democráticamente electo de Bolivia mientras toma acciones audaces y decisivas para combatir el narcotráfico, la corrupción sistémica y el crimen organizado transnacional en Bolivia
, indicated US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while linking his backing with the Escudo de las Americas by writing that the Trump Administration supports the president and democratically elected government of Bolivia in those actions. Como abogado formado en EEUU, esto siempre me ha resultado difícil de comprender, porque me parece que la ejecución de las leyes está en el mismísimo CORAZÓN del poder ejecutivo (como ocurre en nuestro propio Gobierno Federal)
, he maintained.
Prior to his arrest, Mariaca rejected the accusations and assured that the decision to withdraw his visa was an act of “interference” and “political pressure” due to his investigations. The fiscal general publicly rejected the accusations and maintained that the US decision constituted an act of “interference” and “political pressure” related to investigations developed by the Bolivian Ministerio Público. Among those investigations is a case involving Fernando Cerimedo, a consultant and former advisor to President Rodrigo Paz, who is investigated for attempted femicide, illicit enrichment, and money laundering.
Simultaneous Raids in Sucre and the Immediate Transition of Leadership
The enforcement sweep involved police raids on the central headquarters of the Fiscalía in Sucre. Communications chief Claudia Pardo denounced the intervention as illegal during a live-streamed social media broadcast before police officers detained her. Romel Ipamo, the lawyer for the attorney general, stated that the defense will collaborate with the proceedings and requested that due process be safeguarded.
Following the confirmation of Mariaca’s “definitive absence,” the Ministerio Publico designated Luis Montaño to assume its direction, for being the senior prosecutor with the greatest seniority. Mariaca had been elected by the previous Legislature in October 2024 to serve a six-year term until 2030.
Transfer and Detainee Interrogations
Mariaca and Zeballos were transferred from Santa Cruz to the offices of the Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking in El Alto, a neighboring city to La Paz. Later they were transferred to the facilities of the Special Force to Fight Crime (FELCC) of El Alto, where during Thursday morning they were giving statements. A source from the Ministry of Government (Interior) of Bolivia who preferred to reserve identity stated briefly, Está confirmada la detención del fiscal (general)
Roger Mariaca. One of the antecedents surrounding the general prosecutor is his performance regarding more than a thousand tons of wood originating from the Bolivian region of Pando and seized in Arica, Iquique, and Valparaíso.
