Bolivia: Evo Morales’ former drug czar arrested for trafficking weeks before election
The former socialist president said the operation had been “prepared in advance” by the government to cover up its own controversies.
Felipe Caceres, Bolivia's ex-drug czar
Authorities arrested Felipe Cáceres, a former top official under Evo Morales, during an anti-drug operation. Cáceres served as vice minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances from 2006 to 2019, earning the nickname of “anti-drug czar.”
During his arrest in Puerto Villarroel, in the Cochabamba tropics, police reportedly discovered a cocaine crystallization lab on his property, according to Bolivian media El Deber. Images shared by the local press appear to show both the arrest and the laboratory, which Fides News Agency said was “camouflaged in the undergrowth."
Shortly after the news broke, Morales claimed it was “all a set-up.” According to the former president, the Bolivian government had “prepared in advance” the operation to cover up its own scandals. “What else will appear?” he asked, warning his supporters to be cautious of the alleged plan to incriminate them, in remarks to radio station Kawsachun Coca, as reported by Opinión.
It should be noted that the socialist leader has been a fugitive within Bolivia for months, following an arrest warrant for child trafficking.
Just days earlier, another figure close to the former president was arrested on drug trafficking charges. Elba Terán is accused of trafficking 10 kilos of cocaine and, according to La Razón, was remanded in custody for a month on Monday.
Countdown to the elections
The MAS was eliminated from the race, with its candidate, Andrónico Rodríguez, receiving just 8% of the vote. Both candidates advancing to the second round, Rodrigo Paz Pereira and Jorge Tuto Quiroga, lean to the right, meaning the left will no longer govern the country after two decades.
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