Bolivia’s Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, promised on Monday that the authorities will act «with the full weight of the law» against those groups that irregularly occupy private property and land, after last week’s clashes between landowners and protesters in the face of alleged inaction by the forces of law and order.
Del Castillo said that this Monday he will head to the department of Santa Cruz, the region where the latest incidents have occurred, which so far have left several injured and at least one dead.
«We will meet with all the parties involved and we will carry out the corresponding operations», said Minister Del Castillo, who explained that it will be his portfolio together with the Bolivian Police who will assume the functions of stopping these actions.
«We will act with the full weight of the law», he promised, although he emphasized that the authorities, before carrying out any punitive measure, carry out their work within the framework of the Constitution and the current regulations in force.
«The Police cannot act ex officio, they must verify who is the legitimate owner of a property in order to act, in many of these cases they are false complaints, where the complainants are the same people who are the trespassers», explained the Minister of Government, who denied inaction on the part of the Police.
