Bolivia dismantles group operating within justice system following arrest of attorney general

Bolivian authorities said Thursday that a group operating within the justice system was dismantled following the arrest of Attorney General Roger Mariaca, who is accused of leading a criminal organization within the Public Prosecutor’s Office that protected drug trafficking, according to state news agency ABI.

“An organization has been dismantled that was embedded in the justice system and the Public Prosecutor's Office,” Government Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo told reporters.

Oviedo said the organization was allegedly headed by Mariaca and was “destined to encourage and protect narcoterrorism in the country.”

Mariaca was detained Wednesday at Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in eastern Bolivia, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which initially denounced the arrest as illegal and said it did not know the reasons for his detention.

A prosecutor in Sucre described Mariaca's detention as a “kidnapping” during a live broadcast, while the Public Prosecutor's Office also reported a police intervention at its headquarters in the constitutional capital.

The government said 14 people were detained during a police operation linked to the alleged criminal organization.

US Secretary of State Marco expressed support Thursday for President Rodrigo Paz and his government over actions against drug trafficking, systemic corruption and transnational organized crime.

“The Trump Administration stands firmly with President Rodrigo Paz and Bolivia's democratically elected government as it takes bold and decisive actions to combat narco-trafficking, systemic corruption, and transnational organized crime in Bolivia,” Rubio said in a post on the US social media platform X.

Mariaca's detention came two days after the US revoked his visa along with those of other Latin American officials, accusing him of corruption and links to narcotrafficking.

The US State Department accused Mariaca of abusing his position by allegedly soliciting and accepting bribes to facilitate narcotrafficking and help violent criminals evade justice.

Mariaca rejected the US accusations as political pressure and said he would continue investigations under his office's jurisdiction.

Fernando Cerimedo, a former adviser to Argentine President Javier Milei, has been held in preventive detention in Bolivia in a case involving the alleged attempted femicide of his former partner, Nadia Beller.

The developments came amid growing scrutiny of Bolivia's justice system and government efforts to investigate alleged corruption and links to drug trafficking within state institutions.