LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) – The conservative interim president who led Bolivia for a year was arrested on Saturday when officials of the restored left-wing government chased those involved in 2019 around Socialist leader Evo Morales, whom they described as a coup, expel, and the administration that followed.
Jeanine Áñez was detained early in the morning in her hometown of Trinidad and flown to the capital, La Paz. She had earlier warned that officials were looking for her and calling it ‘abuse and prosecution’ in Twitter messages.
The arrest of Áñez and warrants against numerous other former officials have further exacerbated the political tensions in a South American country that is still torn apart by a cascade of alleged injustices suffered by both sides. These include allegations that Morales became authoritarian with almost 13 years in office, that he ran illegally for a fourth re-election and when the result was suspected, that right-wing forces led violent protests that led to security forces forcing him to resign and then assassinated his followers, who themselves protested the alleged coup.
Dozens of people were killed in a series of demonstrations against Morales and beyond.
“This is not justice,” said former president Carlos Mesa, who came in second in a number of elections for Morales. “They want to decapitate an opposition by creating a false narrative of a coup to pay attention to fraud.”
Other arrest warrants have been issued for more than a dozen other former officials. These include several former cabinet ministers, as well as former military leader William Kaliman and the police chief who urged Morales to resign in November 2019 after the country was swept away by protests against the country’s first indigenous president.
After Morales resigned – or was pushed – and flew abroad, many of his key supporters resigned as well. Áñez, a lawmaker who was several steps up on the doctrine of presidential succession, was vaulted in the interim presidency.
Once there, she suddenly shifted Bolivia’s policies to the right and her government tried to prosecute Morales and a variety of his supporters on charges of terrorism and rioting, claiming that they campaigned for election and suppression of protest action.
But the Morales movement towards socialism remained popular. It won last year’s election with 55% of the vote among Luis’ chosen candidate, Arales, who took over the presidency in November. Áñez dropped out after plunging into the ballot box.
Two ministers in Áñez’s government were also arrested on Friday, including former Justice Minister Alvaro Coimbra, who helped lead the prosecution of Morales’ assistants. A former defense minister and others have also been charged.
The new Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, said Áñez, 53, was facing charges related to her actions as an opposition senator, not as a former president.
Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia’s intelligence have been made more than once. , was filed against her.
The American director of Human Rights Watch, José Miguel Vivanco, said from Washington that the arrest warrant against Áñnez and her ministers “contains no evidence that they committed the crime of terrorism.”