Bolivia to launch “strategy” to have OAS’ Almagro investigated

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivian Minister of Justice and Institutional Transparency Iván Lima Magne said Thursday that his country would launch a “strategy” next week before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) to conduct an investigation against Secretary-General Luis Almagro for his alleged involvement in the 2019 coup.

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“Next week there will be a permanent council meeting of the OAS, we asked for it, and they granted it to us, and we will present with the foreign minister of my country the arguments related to the malicious interference of Luis Almagro in the events that caused death and mourning in Bolivia (…) We will begin to propose the investigation strategy against Almagro,” assured Lima in an interview.

The minister reiterated that a first step would be to submit the request for an investigation into Almagro’s actions in the Bolivian elections to the Permanent Council; however, he did not comment on what further actions the government might take.

“Our commitment to justice and the victims reaches Luis Almagro. We believe that he is a direct perpetrator and responsible for the events that led to the deaths of many Bolivians in my country,” he stated.

Following the Bolivian elections in October 2019, in which former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) emerged victoriously, the OAS alleged irregularities in the elections. The armed forces and opposition politicians called on the former president to resign, which he did, calling the protests a coup d’état.