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// DOSSIER — bolivian-attorney-general-arrested-anti-drug-corruption-crackdown
Bolivian Attorney General Arrested in Anti-Drug Corruption Crackdown Following U.S. Sanctions
REL_TIME: 02 Oct 2026 16:19Z · LANG: EN
Bolivian authorities have arrested Attorney General Roger Mariaca and 13 associates following widespread allegations of money laundering, drug trafficking, and operating a corruption network within the justice system. The arrests at Viru Viru International Airport and subsequent raids on prosecution headquarters occurred days after the U.S. State Department revoked Mariaca's visa over alleged bribery linked to drug traffickers, including Uruguayan cartel figure Sebastián Marset. Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo stated that authorities seized over $300,000 in cash hidden in an ambulance leaving Mariaca's residence. While the Paz administration presents the operation as a major step under the U.S.-backed Shield of the Americas security initiative, Mariaca's defense and critics claim the move is politically motivated interference intended to derail investigations into presidential adviser Fernando Cerimedo.
// Background
Roger Mariaca was appointed Attorney General of Bolivia by Congress in October 2024. In late 2025, centre-right President Rodrigo Paz assumed office, reversing two decades of socialist foreign policy by deepening security and economic ties with Washington and joining the U.S.-backed Shield of the Americas alliance. Prior to his arrest, Mariaca was overseeing sensitive domestic investigations, including cases involving Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset and money laundering allegations against political consultant Fernando Cerimedo.
// Key Developments
- Bolivian police arrested Attorney General Roger Mariaca and 13 officials on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and criminal organization.
- Authorities seized approximately $300,000 in cash hidden inside an ambulance leaving Mariaca's home in Santa Cruz.
- The operation came two days after the U.S. State Department revoked Mariaca's visa for alleged corruption and bribery linked to drug trafficking.
- Senior prosecutor Luis Montaño Morales assumed interim Attorney General duties amid police raids on prosecution offices in Sucre and Santa Cruz.
- The enforcement action aligns with President Rodrigo Paz's shift toward closer security ties with Washington under the Shield of the Americas framework.
// Timeline
-
Roger Mariaca is elected Attorney General of Bolivia by the Legislative Assembly.
-
The U.S. State Department imposes visa restrictions and public corruption designations on Roger Mariaca and other regional officials.
-
Bolivian police arrest Roger Mariaca and Santa Cruz departmental prosecutor Alberto Zeballos at Viru Viru International Airport and raid prosecution offices.
-
Interior Minister Oviedo details the seizure of $300,000 in cash from an ambulance at Mariaca's home, and Luis Montaño Morales steps in as interim Attorney General.
// Perspectives
[Bolivian Government]
Views the operation as a necessary purge to dismantle a narcoterrorist network operating inside the judicial apparatus.
[U.S. Department of State]
Supports the arrest as a decisive crackdown on systemic corruption and Latin American drug trafficking networks.
[Supporters of Attorney General Mariaca and Defense Counsel]
Contend the arrest is an illegal detention aimed at halting domestic corruption investigations involving presidential adviser Fernando Cerimedo.
// Quotes
“We have dismantled a criminal organization embedded in the justice system and in the administration of a very important institution, the Public Prosecutor's Office...”
“The Trump Administration stands firmly with President Rodrigo Paz and Bolivia's democratically elected government as it takes bold and decisive actions to combat narco-trafficking...”
“I will not retreat even one centimetre.”
“We denounce before the entire Bolivian population this intervention that is being carried out illegally.”
