Bolivia’s Detained Attorney General Seeks Release at 2 October Hearing
BOLIVIA · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Bolivia is a landlocked Andean nation of about 11 million people. President Rodrigo Paz took office in November 2025, after nearly two decades of governments led by the Movement for Socialism (MAS).
- —The background The attorney general heads the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which decides who is charged with crimes. On 28 September the US State Department accused Attorney General Roger Mariaca of taking bribes to protect drug trafficking. He denies it.
- —Why now Police detained Mariaca on 30 September. The government says it has broken up a criminal network inside the prosecution service, linked to the Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset.
- —What happened On 1 October Mariaca and two senior prosecutors filed a constitutional action for their release against President Paz. A La Paz court set the hearing for 8:30 a.m. on Friday 2 October.
- —Who is who Mariaca is held with Alberto Zeballos, the departmental chief prosecutor of Santa Cruz, and Martín Irusta, a senior prosecutor. Police are also looking for Luis Carlos Torrez, chief prosecutor of La Paz.
- —What it means for you The La Paz prosecutors’ office was cordoned off and closed to the public on Thursday. Anyone with a pending criminal complaint in Bolivia should expect delays.
- —Still open No court has charged or convicted Mariaca. Who now leads the prosecution service is disputed, and the legislature meets on Friday to discuss it.
Bolivia attorney general Roger Mariaca, detained at Santa Cruz airport on Wednesday night, has gone to court to challenge his arrest. A La Paz court hears his action, filed with two senior prosecutors, on Friday 2 October.
On Thursday police also searched for the head of the La Paz prosecutors’ office. Lawmakers meet on Friday over who runs the prosecution service, after the government rejected a self-declared interim chief.
A freedom suit against the president
Mariaca, Zeballos and Irusta filed what Bolivian law calls an acción de libertad. It is a constitutional action, similar to habeas corpus, that lets a detained person ask judges whether the detention is lawful.
The action names President Rodrigo Paz, Government Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo and the national police commander, Adrián Javier Álvarez. It was registered at 3:16 p.m. on Thursday, El Deber and Brújula Digital reported.
The Third Constitutional Chamber of the La Paz departmental court set the hearing for 8:30 a.m. on Friday, or 12:30 UTC. The lawyer Jerjes Justiniano travelled from Santa Cruz to represent the three prosecutors.
The defence argues the arrests were illegal because no one was caught in the act, La Patria reported. It also warned that any statement taken without the detainees’ own lawyers would be void.
What the government alleges
Oviedo, whose ministry controls the police, said officers had dismantled a criminal organisation led by Mariaca inside the prosecution service. He said 14 people had been detained, four of them senior officials.
The government says Mariaca and Zeballos are investigated for criminal organisation, money laundering and drug trafficking. Police say Irusta, once a lawyer for ex-president Evo Morales, was found in Sucre with people trying to remove documents.
Police also detained Mariaca’s aide-de-camp in Sucre, finding more than Bs 1 million (about US$84,000) at his home, El Deber reported. The conversion uses the central bank’s official rate of 11.90 bolivianos per US dollar for 2 October.
On Thursday evening Mariaca declined to answer questions from the prosecutor Juan Pablo Mazzone. “I invoke the constitutional right to silence,” he said, El Deber reported, adding that a formal charge could follow on Friday.
Police search for the La Paz prosecutor
Police cordoned off the La Paz prosecutors’ office on Calle Potosí on Thursday, looking for the departmental prosecutor, Luis Carlos Torrez. He did not come to work, and the office served no one all day, Brújula Digital and El Deber reported.
Officers also sealed off the El Alto regional prosecutors’ office and the anti-narcotics police building holding the three prosecutors. By Thursday night no authority had said why Torrez was sought or whether a warrant existed.
There were no protests in support of the detained prosecutors in either city, El Deber reported.
Who runs the prosecution service
After the arrest, the senior prosecutor Luis Montaño took over as interim attorney general. The prosecution service said the law hands the post to its longest-serving senior prosecutor to avoid a vacuum.
The government rejected that, and presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez accused Montaño of usurping the office. “This person is being sought and will be detained,” Gálvez said, Urgente.bo reported.
Deputy Khaline Moreno of the Creemos party proposed that Paz appoint an interim attorney general by supreme decree until the legislature decides. Alejandro Medinaceli of Paz’s Christian Democratic Party (PDC) made the same call.
Opposition deputies Edgar Zegarra and Lissa Claros rejected an appointment by decree, La Patria reported. The constitution gives that power to the legislature, they said.
Vice-President Edmand Lara, who presides over the legislature and is in Spain, said replacing Mariaca requires a legally established vacancy. “Arrest, by itself, does not produce that vacancy, and no majority can manufacture it,” he said, Unitel reported.
What comes next
The constitutional chamber decides on Friday whether the three stay in custody. Senate President Diego Ávila brought the legislature’s session forward from Monday to Friday to discuss the case.
Supreme Court president Romer Saucedo said the detainees must go before a judge with due process respected, the state agency ABI reported. Any pre-trial detention is for a judge to decide.
The arrests do not mean Mariaca is guilty, and a release on Friday would not clear him. He has called the US accusation political pressure and foreign interference, La Patria noted.
His office had been investigating Fernando Cerimedo, an Argentine consultant who once advised Paz. Former president Jorge Tuto Quiroga had already questioned whether prosecutors could investigate their own chief.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an acción de libertad in Bolivia?
It is a constitutional action, similar to habeas corpus. A detained person asks a constitutional court to rule on whether the arrest or detention is lawful, and the court must hear it quickly.
Why was Bolivia’s attorney general arrested?
The government accuses Roger Mariaca of leading a criminal network in the prosecution service that protected drug trafficking. He is investigated for criminal organisation, money laundering and drug trafficking. He has not been charged or convicted.
Who is running Bolivia’s prosecution service now?
It is disputed. Senior prosecutor Luis Montaño took over as interim head, but the government does not recognise him. Lawmakers were due to discuss the post on Friday 2 October.
Does this affect visitors or residents in Bolivia?
Not directly. The La Paz prosecutors’ office was closed on Thursday, so anyone with a pending criminal complaint should expect delays. There were no reported protests linked to the arrests.
Sources: El Deber, acción de libertad filed, 1 October 2026, El Deber, police search for Luis Carlos Torrez, 1 October 2026, El Deber, Oviedo on 14 detentions, 1 October 2026, El Deber, Irusta detained in Sucre, 1 October 2026, El Deber, Mariaca declines to testify, 1 October 2026, El Deber, aide-de-camp detained, 1 October 2026, El Deber/EFE, government rejects interim attorney general, 1 October 2026, Brújula Digital, freedom-suit hearing, 1 October 2026, Brújula Digital, Torrez search, 1 October 2026, La Patria, freedom-suit hearing, 1 October 2026, La Patria, debate on appointment by decree, 1 October 2026, La Patria, government and prosecution service, 1 October 2026, Urgente.bo, spokesman on Montaño, 1 October 2026, Urgente.bo, PDC calls for decree, 1 October 2026, Urgente.bo, legislative session moved to Friday, 1 October 2026, eju.tv, Creemos proposal, 1 October 2026, Unitel, Edmand Lara statement, 1 October 2026, ABI (state news agency), Supreme Court president Romer Saucedo, 1 October 2026, Banco Central de Bolivia, official exchange rate for 2 October 2026 (11.90 bolivianos per US dollar). All retrieved 2 October 2026.
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