US senators warn of democratic setback in Bolivia with arrests of opponents

This Wednesday (11), US Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and US Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Jim Risch (R-ID) released the following joint statement on the continuing democratic backsliding in Bolivia, including the continued arrest of interim President Jeanine Áñez and the recent arrest of the local governor and opposition leader, Luis Fernando Camacho:

“Bolivian President Luis Arce is facing a critical test of democratic leadership – whether it be resolving petty political vendettas on behalf of his predecessor or moving his nation into the community of Latin American democracies. Absurdly imprisoning political opponents represents a dangerous display of authoritarianism and further erodes the already low trust that many Bolivians and the international community have in the country’s justice system. Bolivia cannot be a democracy if its opposition leaders compete in elections behind bars. And regularly siding with Russian military aggression in United Nations polls only further tarnishes Bolivia’s democratic credibility.”

Camacho was arrested as part of the investigation into the “Coup d’état I” case, accused of participating in the 2019 political crisis that led to the departure of Evo Morales from the Presidency of the country after the loss of support from the Police and Army and amid allegations of fraud in the last elections.

The opponent is in the Chonchocoro prison, where he received the visit of his children José Luis, María Fernanda and Luis Fernando for the first time.

With information from Gazeta Brasil