Luis Arce reacts before the annual state of the nation address at the inauguration of the Congress in La Paz, Bolivia on August 6, 2021. REUTERS Manuel Claure File Photo [PDF] Reputers Manuel Claure File Photo
Friday - Oct 18 Reuters - Members of a group involved in killing Bolivia's president Luis Arce in July had conspired with Haitian president Jovenel Moise to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2020, said Bolivia's Interior Minister on Monday.
Eduardo del Castillo said at a news conference that the government had seen emails, audio recordings, immigration data and hotel stays that proved the failed plot against Arce, a socialist who swept to power last year after a divisive period of right-wing interim government.
We are talking about the fact that days before October elections, paramilitaries who would later kill president of Haiti and mercenary contractors would kill the president of Haiti. del Castillo said some materials were in Bolivia, showing some of the materials.
The purpose of the speech was to finish the life of the president. Del Castillo made some of the data available to media. Reuters was not able to confirm immediately his accusations of corruption.
Bolivia has been deeply polarized since 2019 when socialist Evo Morales won a nationwide election to seal a fourth term in office, despite term limits and a long-term referendum that voted against him running.
The election was later annulled after the Organization of American States OAS said there was electoral fraud. Amid widespread protests, military withdrew its support for Morales, who resigned and fled the country, decrying the events as a coup.
Arce's Morales movement to Socialism finally returned to power in November 2020 under Morales. Morales, who had taken over in the power vacuum after Anez resigned, was arrested in March and is in pre-trial detention, charged with terrorism, sedition and conspiracy, which she called political persecution.
Anez accused Luis Fernando Lopez, a former defense minister under Del Castillo, of being the man who initially planned to assassinate Arce in 2020. He said the conspirators had aimed to recruit Colombian mercenaries who have since been implicated in assassinations of Moise.
Reuters could not reach Lopez for comment. Government officials have said that they believe him to be in hiding in Brazil.
Arce's government is likely to encounter protests by Bolivians allied to the right-wing opposition and in particular conservative figurehead Luis Fernando Camacho, governor of Santa Cruz, richest region in the country.
President Arce told a news conference in Santa Cruz that the government was seeking to make Camacho a victim. He is completely fine, there is nothing going on. There are no murderers here or people who wanted to make an attempt on the life of absolutely anybody, he said.