The Bolivian police arrested on Wednesday the governor of the department of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, one of the main opposition figures to the president, Luis Arce, and promoter of the more than a month-long strike that affected the region in the context of the conflict over the new date of the population census.
«We inform the Bolivian people that the Bolivian Police has complied with the arrest warrant against Mr. Luis Fernando Camacho,» said the Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, on his official profile on the social network Twitter.
Meanwhile, sources from the Santa Cruz government confirmed to the Bolivian newspaper ‘El Deber’ that Camacho was intercepted by police officers when he was trying to enter his private home in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Once detained, the security forces forced the governor of Santa Cruz to enter the police vehicle with which they arrived at the place. Witnesses told the newspaper that the agents pointed a gun at Camacho and beat him.
Camacho’s lawyer, Martin Camacho, also confirmed to ‘El Deber’ that the governor has been «kidnapped» and that he is now on his way to Viru Viru International Airport, located in the Santa Cruz region.
Camacho, leader of the Creemos opposition platform, is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office for his possible involvement in the political crisis that plagued Bolivia in 2019, when Evo Morales was forced to resign from the Presidency due to pressure from part of the Armed Forces and suspicions of irregular elections.
The resignation of Morales, who also left the country, was followed by the promotion of Jeanine Áñez as head of state. Áñez is currently in prison for this case, known as ‘coup d’état I’ and ‘coup d’état II’.
Likewise, part of the pro-government sector has accused Camacho in recent weeks of «terrorism» for having encouraged the more than one month long strike in the department of Santa Cruz to demand the approval of the Population and Housing Census.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
