BOLIVIA · LA PAZ · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country Bolivia is a landlocked Andean country short of dollars and fuel, governed since November 2025 by President Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC).
- —Why it matters Nilton Condori, a suspended alternate senator, helped lead the May and June road blockades that demanded Paz’s resignation, and the case against him also names former president Evo Morales.
- —What happened Plainclothes police detained him on Sunday 18 October near the Mercado Campesino in El Alto, before a political meeting he had called, and took him to anti-crime police cells in La Paz.
- —The accusation A prosecutors’ order dated 16 October lists public instigation to commit crimes and terrorism, linked to a 26 September meeting of Morales supporters where speakers talked of encircling La Paz.
- —Power Index Bolivia ranks 12th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 28.4 points (October 2026 edition).
- —What comes next A judge must decide whether he awaits trial in jail, under lighter measures or free. The constitution bars preventive detention of legislators during their term, except when caught in the act.
- —Still open The order does not spell out which acts he is accused of, and no court has ruled on whether a suspended alternate senator keeps that protection.
The Nilton Condori arrest came on Sunday 18 October, when plainclothes police detained the suspended alternate senator in El Alto, the high plateau city above La Paz. Prosecutors accuse him of public instigation to commit crimes and terrorism over a September meeting with supporters of former president Evo Morales, who is named in the same case.
For foreign readers, the case matters because Condori was one of the faces of the road blockades of May and June, which demanded the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz. How the courts treat him will show whether Bolivia’s government can restore order without being accused of jailing its critics.
Who Is Nilton Condori
Nilton Condori Alanoca is a former schoolteacher who calls himself an Aymara leader and was elected in 2025 as the alternate of Soledad Chapetón, a La Paz senator for Unidad. Unidad is the centre-right alliance of businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who has said Condori was recruited for his reach in the rural provinces of La Paz.
He was no newcomer, having been a leader of the Third System Movement (MTS), the party of former La Paz governor Félix Patzi, and an official in the departmental government. He broke with Unidad in late 2025 by demanding deep pay cuts for legislators, and in April 2026 he called an open assembly that gave the government two weeks to cut salaries and scrap lifetime pensions for former leaders.
That assembly, taken up by the Túpac Katari peasant federation of La Paz, turned into a demand for Paz’s resignation and fed the blockades that the government counts as 53 days long. On 12 August the Senate suspended Condori for eight months without pay over disparaging remarks about the legislature, a case the newspaper El Deber called the first ouster proceeding against a lawmaker since the lower house expelled Morales in 2002.
Since then he has moved toward Morales, attending the September meeting and floating a new party he calls the Popular Movement of the People. On 15 October Unidad said it would ask the electoral court to strip him of the seat for switching sides.
What the Nilton Condori Arrest Is About
The arrest order was issued on Friday 16 October by La Paz prosecutors from the anti-corruption and financial crimes unit, in a case opened on a complaint by deputy Manolo Rojas. Rojas belongs to Paz’s PDC and chairs the justice committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
The order cites Articles 130 and 133 of the Penal Code, public instigation to commit crimes and terrorism, and invokes risks of flight and obstruction under Article 226 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Terrorism carries 15 to 20 years in prison, but the order does not say which specific acts Condori is accused of.
Rojas filed the complaint on 29 September, three days after a meeting of Morales supporters in Lauca Ñ, in the Chapare coca region, where speakers talked of encircling La Paz with new protests. The news agency ANF quoted Condori telling that gathering: “If we do not put these thieves before a firing squad, Bolivia will have no future.”
The case also names Morales, president from 2006 to 2019 for the Movement for Socialism (MAS), and two of his allies, Román Gutiérrez and Rosario Vargas, but the order only directs police to arrest Condori. Morales already faces two other arrest warrants, one in a human trafficking case in Tarija and one over the May and June blockades, and has not been detained.
Presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez tied the arrest to the blockades, telling radio Panamericana that Condori was held “for instigation to commit crimes associated with the 53 days.” His defence calls the Lauca Ñ remarks words spoken “in the heat of politics” and says he will seek to face the case in freedom.
Human rights bodies have long questioned how Bolivia uses its terrorism law. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the GIEI, an independent expert group that investigated the 2019 crisis for the commission, have called the definition too broad and open to use against political opponents.
How the Arrest Unfolded
Witnesses told local media that about eight men in plain clothes, some of them hooded, seized Condori while he ate near the Mercado Campesino and pushed him into a van. La Paz police commander Colonel Ricardo Terrazas confirmed the arrest and linked it to alleged incitement to violence.
Condori declined to answer prosecutors’ questions on Sunday evening, and his lawyer Yaco Conde said the file holds little more than printouts and press clippings. El Deber reported that prosecutors then told Condori he is formally charged and would file the charge with a judge on Monday.
Vice President Edmand Lara, whose office presides over the Legislative Assembly, voiced concern and said justice “must not be used as a tool to silence voices.” Condori’s supporters declared a national state of emergency and warned that “the people will rise up” if he is not freed by Monday.
What It Means for You
For American travelers, the immediate risk is a return of road blockades around La Paz and El Alto, the city that hosts the main airport serving La Paz. The US State Department rates Bolivia at Level 2, exercise increased caution, and warns that roadblocks are a common form of protest that visitors should never try to cross.
For investors and policymakers, the case tests whether Paz’s government can enforce the law against blockade leaders in an economy short of dollars and fuel. The May and June blockades disrupted food and fuel supplies between cities, and prosecutors had opened 148 criminal cases over them by July.
It is also a test of due process in a country where successive governments have been accused of using terrorism charges against rivals. A final conviction would cost Condori his seat under the constitution, while a release would leave him free to pursue the 2030 candidacy he has been eyeing.
Read the companion piece in this cluster: Nilton Condori Detention Tests Article 152. Both articles are updated from the same verified sources.
What Is Not Known
The order does not identify the statements or acts behind the terrorism charge, and prosecutors have not published the formal charge. It is also unclear whether prosecutors will ask for preventive detention, as Rojas wants, or for lighter measures such as house arrest.
No court has yet ruled on whether Article 152 of the constitution, which bars preventive detention of legislators during their term, protects an alternate who is suspended. It is not known whether Morales, Gutiérrez or Vargas will be summoned, or whether Condori’s supporters will carry out their threat of protests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Nilton Condori?
Nilton Condori is a former teacher elected in 2025 as an alternate senator for La Paz on the list of the centre-right alliance Unidad. He broke with the alliance, helped lead the May and June blockades and was suspended from the Senate for eight months in August.
Why was Nilton Condori arrested?
Prosecutors in La Paz ordered his arrest on 16 October for alleged public instigation to commit crimes and terrorism. The complaint centres on a 26 September meeting of Evo Morales supporters at which speakers talked of encircling La Paz.
Can a Bolivian senator be held in preventive detention?
Article 152 of Bolivia’s constitution says legislators have no immunity but cannot be held in preventive detention during their term, except when caught in the act. Whether that applies to a suspended alternate senator like Condori is for the judge to decide.
Is Evo Morales also under arrest?
Morales is named in the same case, but the order only directs police to arrest Condori. He already faces two other arrest warrants that have not been carried out.
Is it safe to travel to La Paz now?
The US State Department rates Bolivia at Level 2 and warns that roadblocks are a common form of protest. Travelers should follow local news, avoid demonstrations and never try to cross a roadblock.
Sources: Opinión, text of the arrest order, 18 October 2026, Opinión, police confirm arrest, 18 October 2026, Erbol, police commander Ricardo Terrazas, 18 October 2026, Urgente.bo, 18 October 2026, Urgente.bo, the Rojas complaint, 18 October 2026, La Patria, Rojas to seek preventive detention, 18 October 2026, El Deber, the order and the spokesman, 18 October 2026, El Deber, Condori declines to testify, 18 October 2026, El Deber, Senate suspension, 12 August 2026, El Deber, 148 criminal cases over the blockades, 21 July 2026, ANF, arrest and Lauca Ñ remarks, 18 October 2026, ANF, warrants against Evo Morales, 11 October 2026, Brújula Digital, defence and supporters, 18 October 2026, Brújula Digital, four people under investigation, 18 October 2026, Opinión, Vice Presidency statement, 18 October 2026, Opinión, Unidad moves against Condori, 15 October 2026, Opinión, Condori’s new movement, 30 September 2026, Opinión, the April assembly, 23 June 2026, Law 170 of 9 September 2011, Article 133 of the Penal Code, Law 007 of 2010, Article 226 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Chamber of Deputies rules, Articles 151 and 152 of the constitution, Página Siete via eju.tv, criticism of the terrorism law, US State Department, Bolivia travel advisory. All retrieved 19 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