Bolivia Finds US$391,555 in Ex-Attorney General’s Home
BOLIVIA · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Bolivia, a landlocked Andean country of about 11 million people, is the world’s third-largest coca grower after Colombia and Peru.
- —The background On Monday, 28 September, the US State Department barred Roger Mariaca, then attorney general, over alleged drug-linked bribery.
- —Why now Police detained him on 30 September, and since Monday, 5 October, he has been held in a Potosí prison.
- —What happened On Tuesday, 6 October, prosecutors found US$391,555 and Bs 328,200 (about US$27,400) in cash at his Santa Cruz home.
- —The players Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano says a US extradition is possible but depends on Washington, not on Bolivia.
- —What it means for you No US criminal charge has been announced, so extradition is a prospect, not a pending request.
- —Still open Justiniano spoke of a safe holding over US$2.5 million; the prosecutors’ tally has not confirmed that sum.
Bolivian prosecutors found almost US$420,000 in cash at the home of the former attorney general whom Washington accuses of taking drug-linked bribes.
Bolivian prosecutors found US$391,555 and Bs 328,200 (about US$27,400) in cash at Roger Mariaca’s Santa Cruz home on Tuesday, 6 October. Mariaca, Bolivia’s former attorney general, is in pre-trial detention on drug-trafficking and money-laundering charges.
The case matters in Washington because the US State Department publicly accused him of taking bribes linked to drug trafficking. Bolivia’s defence minister says a US extradition request could follow, although none has been announced.
What Prosecutors Found in Santa Cruz
The raids targeted four homes in a condominium on Avenida Cristo Redentor, near the eighth ring road of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is Bolivia’s largest city and its business capital.
Prosecutors Edwin Sarmiento and Daniel Portales announced the results late on Tuesday, El Deber, the Santa Cruz daily, reported. At Mariaca’s residence they counted US$391,555 and Bs 328,200.
In US$100 bills, that is almost 4,000 notes. Conversions use the official central bank rate of 11.97 bolivianos per dollar on Wednesday, 7 October.
At the home of Alberto Zeballos, a former chief prosecutor of Santa Cruz department, they found US$2,800 and Bs 260,000 (about US$21,700). Zeballos is accused in the same case, and part of his money lay inside a safe, eju.tv reported.
Investigators also seized at least four high-end vehicles, firearms, ammunition and property records. Prosecutors said the lawful origin of the money had not been established.
A Larger Figure From the Government
Hours before the count, Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said a safe at Mariaca’s home held more than US$2.5 million. He added that the exact amount still had to be officially quantified, El Deber reported.
“There is no conjecture, there is no doubt,” Justiniano said of the find. He said the inquiry now targets “the structure that was behind Mariaca” and that more digital evidence would emerge.
The prosecutors’ published tally includes no sum of that size, and by Wednesday morning no official had explained the gap.
Why Washington Is Part of the Roger Mariaca Case
On Monday, 28 September, the US State Department publicly designated Mariaca for corruption and barred him from entering the United States. Washington said his conduct undermined President Donald Trump’s fight against narcoterrorism, Teletica, a Costa Rican broadcaster, reported.
On Tuesday, Justiniano said the allegations of corruption and protection of drug traffickers rested on information from the United States. “It does not depend on us, it depends on the investigation,” he said of extradition, Caretas, a Peruvian weekly, reported.
No US indictment against Roger Mariaca has been made public. Extradition would first require US prosecutors to charge him and Washington to send a formal request.
The Case Against Him So Far
Bolivia’s Congress elected Mariaca attorney general, the head of the national prosecution service, in October 2024. Police detained him at Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz on Wednesday, 30 September.
A judge has issued two six-month pre-trial detention orders, El Deber reported. One covers organised crime and drug trafficking, and the other covers money laundering.
The laundering charge concerns Bs 3,532,100 (about US$295,000) and US$10,000 found in an ambulance near his Santa Cruz residence. Prosecutors also accuse him of protecting drug networks, including that of Uruguayan trafficker Sebastián Marset, Caretas reported.
Marco Antonio Oviedo, the minister of government, said a further complaint for illegal possession of weapons is under review. He said two pistols found in the searches were registered, but two long guns were not.
What It Means for You
For US policy, the case tests whether President Rodrigo Paz’s government, in office since November 2025, will act on US corruption findings. Bolivian authorities detained Mariaca two days after the State Department’s decision, and ministers openly cite US information.
Bolivia matters to US drug policy as a major coca and cocaine producer. A case against the country’s former chief prosecutor goes to the heart of how drug money reaches the justice system.
For investors and travellers, nothing changes on the ground for now. The signal is political: La Paz is prosecuting a US-flagged official in its own courts.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the safe Justiniano described is separate from the cash prosecutors counted, or how much it held. The origin of the money has not been established.
It is unclear whether US prosecutors have opened a case against Mariaca. His defence had not publicly responded to the raids by Wednesday morning.
What Comes Next
Prosecutors will review the seized cash, vehicles and documents, and three residents have been summoned as witnesses. Vice President Edmand Lara, who presides over Congress, has asked for a session to start choosing a permanent attorney general, eju.tv reported.
The raid does not mean Mariaca has been convicted, and the cash has not been proven illicit. It also does not mean the United States has requested his extradition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Roger Mariaca?
He was Bolivia’s attorney general, the head of the national prosecution service, elected by Congress in October 2024. An interim attorney general has led the office since his arrest.
Has the United States charged Mariaca with a crime?
No US indictment has been made public. The State Department barred him from entering the United States on 28 September, which is a visa measure, not a criminal charge.
Could Bolivia extradite him to the United States?
Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano says it is possible but depends on a US investigation. Washington would first need to charge him and send a formal request.
How much cash has been found in the case?
Prosecutors counted US$391,555 and Bs 328,200 (about US$27,400) at his home on 6 October. Earlier, Bs 3,532,100 (about US$295,000) and US$10,000 were found in an ambulance near the residence.
Where is Mariaca now?
He is in pre-trial detention at Cantumarca prison in Potosí, where he arrived on Monday, 5 October. Police say he is in isolation under standard intake rules and receiving medical care.
Sources: El Deber, raids on Mariaca and Zeballos homes; El Deber, Justiniano on the safe; El Deber, Justiniano on US information and extradition; El Deber, Minister Oviedo on weapons; El Deber, Mariaca in Cantumarca; eju.tv; Los Tiempos; Caretas; Teletica; Banco Central de Bolivia, official exchange rate (all accessed 7 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief