Bolivian justice rejects release of Santa Cruz governor and ratifies preventive detention

The Second Criminal Chamber of the Departmental Court of Justice of La Paz, Bolivia, rejected yesterday Thursday the appeal for freedom presented by the defense of the governor of Santa Cruz and opposition leader, Luis Fernando Camacho, and ratified the preventive detention in the maximum security prison of Chonchocoro for four months.

The decision of Judge Sergio Pacheco was communicated by the vocal of the Criminal Chamber, Rosmery Pabón, who explained the arguments by which the “inadmissibility” of the appeals of the defense was determined for the case called “Coup d’Etat I”, which investigates the commission of the crimes of terrorism and conspiracy in the political crisis that Bolivia experienced in 2019.

Read also: check out our coverage on Luis Fernando Camacho

While the defense of the governor of Santa Cruz requested his freedom, the Prosecutor’s Office asked to extend the time of deprivation of liberty from four to six months.

Camacho was arrested on Dec. 28 in the department of Santa Cruz (east) during a police operation and transferred to the city of La Paz, where his preventive detention was ordered for four months within the “Coup d’Etat I” case that sought the resignation of Evo Morales to the Presidency in November 2019.

Vocal Pabón said that Camacho must continue to be held in Chonchocoro, in the city of La Paz, with the measure dictated by the Eighth Court, while the investigations are being carried out.

For the jurist, the concurrence of the probability of authorship of the implicated has been evidenced, and there are latent procedural risks.

Martin Camacho, the lawyer of the governor of Santa Cruz, announced that they will continue with more legal actions until exhausting the corresponding channels, both in ordinary and constitutional matters.

“We consider that the jurisdictional authority has incurred the same errors of lack of foundation, inconsistency, and its resolution”, he said.