36 former ministers say Evo is not a drug trafficker

On the other hand, at least 40 former ministers of the former president, among them Quintana, Huanacuni, San Miguel, Aguilar and Heredia, who are very close to Morales, did not sign the document supporting the former president.

Through an official communiqué, 36 former ministers of Evo Morales "closed ranks" yesterday around the former president and assured that he is not involved in drug trafficking, despite the fact that there is no formal accusation. Former minister Teresa Morales affirmed: "I put my hands in the fire (for him)".

Meanwhile, at least 40 other former ministers, among them the presidents Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca, did not sign the letter, nor did others such as Juan Ramón Quintana, Wálker San Miguel, Claudia Peña and Nila Heredia, among others.

The former ministers Javier Zavaleta, of Labor; Morales, of Productive Development and Alanoca, of Cultures, gave a press conference in which they declared their "indignation in the face of the attacks against former President Evo Morales. This campaign seeks to discredit Morales' image by maliciously linking him to illegal drug trafficking activities in which some former police chiefs and officials have been involved," read Alanoca.

On January 22, when he was being taken to jail, former anti-drug chief Maximiliano Dávila lashed out at the current Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, whom he accused of wanting to incriminate Morales in the drug trafficking investigation.

In the document they also support former vice-president Álvaro García Linera and the current presidents. "Neither Álvaro nor Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca nor any of us (former ministers) ever had any relation with this type of crimes and such accusations are nothing more than a great infamy".

The statement was made public, despite the fact that there is no official accusation against the former president. The position of a sector of MAS comes at a time when the United States offered a reward of five million dollars for the former head of the anti-drug fight, Dávila.

On February 6, Morales declared that he feels persecuted by the US. "It is the Government's task and we cannot be persecuted by the right wing and the US embassy, we cannot continue to be persecuted".

In addition, yesterday it was learned that the Colombian-Venezuelan Álex Saab, alleged front man of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, was a DEA agent and cooperated with the US for a year in a "proactive" way about his illicit activities and contracts with the Venezuelan government. He was going to turn himself in to US justice, according to disclosed court documents to which Efe had access. 

"Hands to the fire".

The former Minister of Productive Development Teresa Morales pointed out that the 36 former authorities "close ranks" around Morales, for whom they also "put their hands in the fire".

"Yes, we close ranks and put our hands in the fire for former President Evo Morales in this matter, which the media is unjustly accusing him of," said Morales, who was also head of the Financial Investigations Unit (UIF).

The former ministers believe that there is a persecution against the head of MAS "based on unfounded slander", then they call on the people "not to get carried away by the campaign of alleged investigators and media that with dubious moral interests lend themselves to the game". 

POINT OF VIEW 
Paul Coca
Political Analyst
"The one who explains gets complicated".

The fact that former ministers of Evo Morales appear with this communiqué has logic that the one who explains is complicated and so it will always be, the one who explains is complicated. 

And the ex-ministers who did not sign this document for whatever reason, does not mean that these ex-authorities are against Evo Morales, because later when the public opinion says that they have not signed, they will appear saying for this reason, for distance, any excuse.

Now, blaming the press, the public opinion, the right wing, the United States is a MAS discourse that at the time had political impact, but it turns out that today it is tiring, repetitive, boring and does not generate any kind of impact, because it became a MAS cliché.

This communiqué to Evo Morales is going to harm him more, because former ministers come out to justify it, to explain something that is already in question before the national public opinion.

Besides, as there is no impartial justice, this helps to question Morales even more. In this issue of drug trafficking there are attacks against the Government and against Evo Morales, however, politically speaking Luis Arce can be a winner, because the political opposition does not have the absolute capacity to generate a gain on the issue.

Arce is the winner, because at the end of the day the president can take the case: whether or not to extradite Dávila or to make reforms to the anti-drug policy in Bolivia. Arce has more to gain than Morales.

 

 

The 36 former ministers who signed the endorsement

Among the former ministers who signed the document backing Evo Morales are Sacha Llorenti, Teresa Morales and Javier Zavaleta.

The list: Amanda Dávila, Carlos Romero, Alberto Echazú, Javier Zabaleta, Vladimir Sánchez, José Pimentel, Wilma Alanoca, Celima Torrico, Hugo Moldiz, Casimira Rodríguez, Teresa Morales, Susana Rivero, Marco Machicado, Óscar Coca, Alfredo Rada, Daniel Santalla, Sacha Llorenti, Fernando Vincenti, Tito Montaño, Nélida Sifuentes, Milton Claros, Nardy Suxo, Pablo Groux, Noel Aguirre, Rafael Alarcón, Iván Canelas, Nemesia Achacollo, Juan José Sosa, Guillermo Dalence, Patricia Ballivián and Ariana Campero. 

 

The 40 former ministers who did not sign

The list: Luis Arce, David Choquehuanca, Elizabeth Salguero, Juan Ramón Quintana, W. San Miguel, Abel Mamani, R. Aguilar, José Zamora, Juan C. Calvimontes, F. Huanacuni, Mariana Prado, Alicia Muñoz, Milton Gómez, Carmen Trujillo, Héctor Arce, Elisabeth Arismendi, Saúl Avalos, Víctor Cáceres, Magdalena Cajías, Viviana Caro, Wilfredo Chávez, Calixto Chipana, C. Cocarico, Reymi Ferreira, Santiago Gálvez, Mario Guillén, José L. Gutiérrez, Sandra Gutiérrez, Nila Heredia, Gonzalo Hurtado, Hernán Larrazábal, Pablo Menacho, Jorge Ledezma, Wálter Delgadillo, Ramiro Tapia, Julia Ramos, Jerjes Mercado, Mabel Monje, Claudia Peña and Hugo Salvatierra.

2019 crisis versions reach relator and Añez weakens

Ribera asked the jurist to visit her mother. The government reported that the former president's vital signs are within "normal parameters".

The versions about what happened at the end of 2019 yesterday dominated the second day of the visit of Diego García-Sayán, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations (UN) on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. The representative met with authorities of the Departmental Court of Justice of La Paz (TDJ) and a letter from the former president Jeanine Añez to the jurist on the subject was made public.

García-Sayán held a meeting with representatives of the TDJ of La Paz, at its headquarters in downtown La Paz. In the meeting, according to information provided by this media, the representative had planned to learn about the so-called coup d'état case.

After the meeting, the TDJ of La Paz limited itself to disseminate photographs of the meeting through its social networks.

García-Sayán left the premises without making any statement to the press.  A group of people from the Fejuve led by Jesús Vera held a demonstration in the vicinity of the judicial headquarters. When the UN rapporteur was on his way to a vehicle, they shouted "justice!".

Vera, in statements to the press, asked García-Sayán to receive them to know "the truth" of the neighbors of the city of La Paz about the crisis at the end of 2019. "When there has been the coup d'état by Mrs. Añez, in the city of La Paz, the first social organization that has been intervened in an irregular way and with paramilitary groups has been the Fejuve La Paz", indicated the leader. 

Añez's defense, on the other hand, made public a letter from the former president addressed to the UN rapporteur, dated February 15, in which she informs him of "the public evidence of the flagrant interference of the political power and the Executive Branch in the Judicial Branch".

"In the official page of the Ministry of Justice, Minister Iván Lima Magne claims to have demonstrated that there was a coup in Bolivia, without there being to date any investigation framed in the Political Constitution of the State and in charge of the Maximum Supreme Court of Justice to assert such recklessness", reads the letter.

In the letter, Añez shows the "evidence" through four axes, which are: ordinary processes against a former President of the State, the interference of the Ministry of Justice, the interference of the Ministry of Government and the interference of the Attorney General's Office and the Executive.

In the case of the Ministries of Justice and Government, he cites at least eight declarations of authorities of those offices. Among those he mentions is the following: "In March 2021, the Minister of Justice, Iván Lima Magne, publicly confessed that 'because we did not have the 2/3 of the Assembly and we had to build a case, you could not go with such a serious accusation on day one...".

From Añez's Twitter account, it was reported that the former president would give García-Sayán 17 proofs of the interference of the Executive in the Judicial Branch and the Prosecutor's Office. However, the rapporteur did not visit her. 

The exmandataria completed her eighth day of strike yesterday. "I feel weak, with headaches," she tweeted.

Her daughter, Carolina Ribera, asked García-Sayán to meet with the former president. "Let her have an audience with my mother, let her visit her here in the Miraflores prison so that she herself can tell her about all the injustices that have taken place in these months, all the trials and the fabricated crimes," she maintained. 

Alain De Canedo, lawyer of the former president, said that Añez is weakening and regretted that nobody cares. "The former president is weak. Her life is running out, and nobody, absolutely nobody, cares. I really see with great impotence the indolence of the human being, especially of the Bolivian society, especially of the political class. This lady is dying and nobody cares".

The Penitentiary Regime, through a press release, indicated that Añez underwent three medical check-ups yesterday and that her vital signs are "within normal parameters".

García-Sayán also met with the presidents of the Senate and Deputies, Andrónico Rodríguez and Freddy Mamani, who gave him a plaque and a scarf. He also held a meeting with the presidents of the Justice and Constitution commissions of both chambers, all presided by MAS legislators.

The rapporteur was interested in the pre-selection of candidates for high positions in the Judiciary, said Deputy Juan José Jáuregui, president of the Constitution Commission. 

Rapporteur García-Sayán receives a stream of complaints against the judicial system

 Relatives of policemen, wives of military and civic members of Potosí demonstrated. The Vice President, the Chancellor and the Minister of Justice met with him, as well as the Group of Independent Jurists and Conade.

A procession of complaints against injustice received yesterday the special rapporteur of the United Nations (UN) on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Diego García-Sayán, who will be in Bolivia until the 22nd.

Police family members, as well as military and civic wives of Potosí held a vigil in the South zone, in the vicinity of the offices of the international organization, demanding justice and freedom. They indicated that the police family, the military and the people of Potosí, among other sectors, are "the real victims".

Guadalupe Cárdenas, who leads the police wives, was also in the group. She presented a letter addressed to García-Sayán, to whom she pointed out "serious injustices" against police officers, "who were unjustly dismissed due to processes rigged by the government in power". 

Lieutenant Franklin Mamani Guarachi also sent a letter to the Rapporteur, in which he indicates that he is "unjustly" deprived of liberty. "I am a political prisoner, persecuted and victim of the dictatorship in Bolivia," he said in the letter.  

The Independent Jurists Group and the National Committee for the Defense of Democracy (Conade) met with García-Sayán and presented him with documentation on the lack of judicial independence.

Opponents, such as Creemos Senator Centa Rek, criticized the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) for excluding them from the meetings that two Senate commissions have scheduled for today with García-Sayán.

A brief chronicle 

With a salute to the cameras, with his right hand and without giving statements to the press, García-Sayán began his agenda in Bolivia. This happened before entering a meeting with Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta, scheduled for 9:00.

The meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs lasted approximately one hour. Afterwards, he went to the Vice-Presidency, where he held a meeting with the second in command of the country, David Choquehuanca. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Justice, Iván Lima.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. he met with the Independent Jurists Group and at 7:00 p.m. with Conade leaders. These last two meetings were held in the facilities of the international organization in the country. 

Reports and letters

The former mayor and lawyer Juan Del Granado, representing the legal advisors, said that they delivered to the Rapporteur a dossier, in which they show that justice was subordinated to the three recent periods of government: to the current government of Luis Arce and to the administrations of Evo Morales and Jeanine Añez.

"We have been able to convey to the rapporteur the serious difficulties that our administration of justice is going through, with emphasis on the lack of independence (...). We have given him a complete dossier on the situation of judicial independence," he said.

For its part, Conade gave the UN rapporteur documentation showing that the justice system acted favorably in processes involving members of the MAS.

"We have exposed the lack of judicial independence, we exposed the most emblematic cases: from Tipnis, Fondioc, to cases of political persecution. We presented a registry of a list of judges who are linked to processes where the norms have not been complied with and the MAS was favored", indicated the representative of Conade, Lizeth Veramendi.

The head of the Creemos senators' bench, Centa Rek, and the Comunidad Ciudadana legislator Andrea Barrientos denounced that the opposition members of the Senate Constitution and Justice Commissions were not notified about today's meeting with García-Sayán.  "This makes us see that in reality the agenda of the Rapporteur is being managed, trying to make only the official voices heard," he indicated.

Meeting and observations

García-Sayán is scheduled to have a meeting today with the presidents of the Senate and Deputies, Andrónico Rodríguez and Freddy Mamani.

"We are agreeing to the rapporteur's request (to meet) with the two presidents of both chambers," said Mamani.

Movimiento Al Socialismo senator Virginia Velasco confirmed that the Justice Commission will have a meeting with the rapporteur this Wednesday. 

Guadalupe Cárdenas, during the demonstration held in the vicinity of the UN offices, said: "We have presented the letters (to meet with García-Sayán), so that everyone knows about the political persecutions". 

Meetings to be confirmed

The opposition benches of Comunidad Ciudadana and Creemos requested a meeting with the UN representative. Date and time have not yet been confirmed.

Former President Añez requested that he visit her in the Miraflores prison to explain her situation. "They have not yet confirmed the visit", explained Carolina Ribera, daughter of the ex-president.

Sources close to Añez's defense indicated that if the meeting is confirmed, it could take place during the weekend.

The leader of the Central Obrera Boliviana, Nicanor Baltazar, opened the possibility that the union also requests a meeting with García-Sayán, although he expressed that he "does not have much confidence" in the Rapporteur, because he was minister of his country, for which he expects him to be impartial. 

García-Sayán runs into 'prisoners' on strike and judges who release murderers

The special rapporteur for the independence of judges and lawyers of the UN will begin his official activities from today in the country. He will meet with authorities and members of civil society.

After his arrival in Bolivia yesterday, the special rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the United Nations, Diego García-Sayán, found that former president Jeanine Áñez and two activists opposed to the Government, who declared themselves political prisoners, are in hunger strike. In addition, he arrived in the country shortly after the scandal uncovered by the release of rapists and murderers sentenced to 30 years in prison and without the right to pardon by Bolivian judges.

Precisely today marks the seventh day of the voluntary fast in which former president Jeanine Áñez is found, imprisoned 11 months ago in the Miraflores prison, accused of incurring in an alleged coup in November 2019, when she assumed the Presidency after the resignation of Evo Morales, Vice President Álvaro García Linera and the heads of the Senate and Deputies. Áñez demands to defend herself from her in freedom and through a trial of responsibilities.

Through her legal defense, Áñez formalized the request for a hearing with the special rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the United Nations.

The lawyer Alaín de Canedo explained that it will be the representative who decides whether or not to visit the former authority in the Miraflores prison, where he is serving almost a year of preventive detention “A meeting with the rapporteur has been requested, we understand that this has been accepted favorably.

 It is up to Diego García-Sayán to set a day, time, the former president has expressly requested that she be visited in the Miraflores prison,” De Canedo said at a press conference.

The hunger strike was joined by the member of the Cochala Youth Resistance (RJC), Mario Antonio Bascopé, who is in preventive detention in the San Roque prison in Sucre, and assumes that his imprisonment is a "political revenge" for leading the protests against fraud in the 2019 elections, which led to the resignation and departure of former Bolivian President Evo Morales.

The former civic leader of Riberalta, Katriel Müller Justiniano also initiated the extreme measure "until the last consequences" in the prison of that city of Beni. He was imprisoned in November of last year after protesting the law against the legitimization of illicit profits, which was finally withdrawn from the Legislative Assembly by President Luis Arce Catacora.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks the case of femicide, murderer and serial rapist Richard Choque was uncovered. This man had been sentenced to 30 years in prison without the right to pardon for the kidnapping and murder in 2013 of a 20-year-old girl, Blanca Rubí Limachi.

At the end of 2019, the Judge of the First Criminal Execution of La Paz, Rafael Alcón, granted Choque house arrest because he presented a certificate that he had diabetes, good behavior, and because there was no fiscal objection. Later, the offender confessed that he sent the judge $3,000 and a bottle of whiskey.

The case has reached international relevance, because the Police discovered that he had killed and buried two other young girls in his own house, and also two men after he was released by Judge Alcón.

The Spanish newspaper El País reported that Choque confessed that he killed those women and raped more than 70. "His capture has also brought to light a network of corruption that supposedly affects judges for letting murderers go free," he said. The country.

In this context, the Judicial Council has so far detected at least five cases of sentenced persons who were released by former judge Rafael Alcón, three men and two women, and another 16 who received the same benefit in another court in La Paz. This is how justice is in Bolivia, and the facts jump out before the eyes of the United Nations envoy.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) expert, César Muñoz, tweeted that “The UN rapporteur on judicial independence is visiting Bolivia. He will find, precisely, that there is no judicial independence. We urge you to support the work of Bolivian civil society in favor of justice without political interference”.

The former president and former president of the Supreme Court of Justice Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé pointed out that, after the visit, García-Sayán must “report to the United Nations delegate for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. Then, this office, based in Geneva, must make its concern known to the relevant body, and if possible, let the General Assembly of the main multilateral body, the United Nations, know that it has a serious concern about the state of justice. in Bolivia, unless Diego García-Sayán finds another reality, but I don't think that's the case”.

For his part, the former Minister of Justice during the administration of Jorge Quiroga and member of the commission of notables for the transformation of justice, Carlos Goitia, hopes that “García-Sayán will come and reaffirm that justice in the country is not independent and give us an orientation on how it is that in other places or states these evils have been avoided, they have been corrected and democracies were strengthened based on these measures.”

The Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, admitted that this is why a judicial reform is proposed. “It is the State that we have inherited, it comes from the creation of the Judicial Branch. The criticism made by the rapporteur, when he finishes his work, will be the basis for the construction of a strategy that leads us to the solution of the problem”, he asserted.

He denounced, in an interview with the Influential program of EL DEBER Radio, that it is true that the International Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) concluded in its report that politics interferes with justice in the country, but that it was referring precisely to the government of Jeanine Añez. However, the GIEI stated in its report that political interference in justice is an evil that goes back much further and was a problem of the Morales government.

The agenda starts this morning. Vice President David Choquehuanca, Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta and Minister Lima will welcome him. He will visit the presidents of both chambers and the Plural Justice commissions of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies to collect impressions from the representatives of the country's political forces.

On Wednesday he will travel to Sucre where he will meet with the senior magistrates of the Judicial Branch and the State Attorney General's Office. On Friday, February 18, he will hold virtual meetings with members and judicial authorities from Santa Cruz, Oruro and Chuquisaca, it is not ruled out that he will do so with other regions.

Lima pointed out that he will meet with three governors, including the governor of Santa Cruz, virtually. He will have 40 meetings with representatives of civil society. On February 22, he will meet with the president and offer a final press conference.

YPFB indicates that President Arce's son worked until September 2021 and denies salary of Bs 50 thousand

 The Executive President of YPFB, Armin Dorgathen, asserted this Wednesday that Luis Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, son of President Luis Arce Catacora, worked at the state company until September of last year and denied that the young man had a salary of 50,000 Bolivians.

“It is false that the president's son Luis Arce has at some point earned 50,000 bolivianos within YPFB or some subsidiary of YPFB. The President's son is a young professional who has never held managerial positions. He was always in technical positions and worked until September 2021, when he voluntarily resigned from his job at YPFB Corporación”, Dorgathen indicated.

The executive added that Arce Mosqueira "is an industrial engineer with a Master's degree in Hydrocarbon Processes and has more than 10 years of experience in the hydrocarbons industry and area."

The statements were made after versions emerged that Arce Mosqueira held management positions with a salary of 50,000 Bolivians.

In January, the complaint emerged that Luis Arce's son worked at YPFB with a salary of 35,000 bolivianos. In this regard, the deputy for the Alliance We Believe, Erwin Bazán, denounced that it was a crime of nepotism.

After 2 years of neglect, maintenance of the Casa Grande costs Bs 1.5 million

 During 2021, 14 processes were published in the State Procurement System for the purchase of spare parts, but only seven were awarded. The rest were declared void or were annulled. 

After four years of its opening, and two of neglect, part of the maintenance of the Casa Grande del Pueblo costs 1.5 million bolivianos. This figure does not include the contracts that are still pending, those that have been canceled and some that have been declared void.

Between August and December 2021, the Ministry of the Presidency published, in the State Contracting System (Sicoes), 14 contracts referring to the maintenance of government infrastructure. Of these, seven were awarded and six were declared void or canceled from the call.

The purpose of the contract is the purchase of supplies for the maintenance of the electrical system, the hydro-sanitary system, the façade or the heating. The number of contracts and their value is lower compared to those made in 2019, when all the floors and offices of the building were still equipped and put into operation.

Although the building is still new, it is highly used and already generates several complaints. Some of them are due to the detachment of the facade and certain damage to the hydro-sanitary system.

two years of carelessness

The government building was inaugurated on August 8, 2018. Its construction was declared a national priority in 2012, through Law 313. The contract that began the works, in 2015, stipulated that the 29-story building and a heliport should be delivered in 2016.

However, the terms and costs changed in five modified contracts. Between the first and the last there is a difference of 9.9 million Bolivians.

For its equipment and decoration, more than 34 million Bolivians were allocated. The amount included a bed of more than 21,000 bolivianos and dishes of more than 33,000.

The then president, Evo Morales, promoter of the project, occupied the presidential floor and governed from that building until his resignation in 2019.

After his departure, former temporary president Jeanine Añez decided to return the presidential offices and rooms to the former Government Palace and the San Jorge residence, respectively. Only the floors that housed five ministries remained in operation.

It was during the hard times of the pandemic that it was decided to install a control and coordination center for the fight against covid in Morales' suite, and on floors 22 and 23.

From the beginning of the transition in November 2019, until its departure in November 2020, there were no purchases of supplies or services for maintenance.

These were not taken up again until the second half of 2021, during the Luis Arce administration. The president returned the presidential offices to the new premises. It should be noted that Arce does not reside in the suite of the Casa Grande del Pueblo or in the residence of San Jorge. He preferred to keep his home in Miraflores, within the framework of his austerity policy.

After four years of its opening, and two of neglect, part of the maintenance of the Casa Grande del Pueblo costs 1.5 million bolivianos. This figure does not include the contracts that are still pending, those that have been canceled and some that have been declared void.

Between August and December 2021, the Ministry of the Presidency published, in the State Contracting System (Sicoes), 14 contracts referring to the maintenance of government infrastructure. Of these, seven were awarded and six were declared void or canceled from the call.

The purpose of the contract is the purchase of supplies for the maintenance of the electrical system, the hydro-sanitary system, the façade or the heating. The number of contracts and their value is lower compared to those made in 2019, when all the floors and offices of the building were still equipped and put into operation.

Although the building is still new, it is highly used and already generates several complaints. Some of them are due to the detachment of the facade and certain damage to the hydro-sanitary system.

two years of carelessness

The government building was inaugurated on August 8, 2018. Its construction was declared a national priority in 2012, through Law 313. The contract that began the works, in 2015, stipulated that the 29-story building and a heliport should be delivered in 2016 .

However, the terms and costs changed in five modified contracts. Between the first and the last there is a difference of 9.9 million Bolivians.

For its equipment and decoration, more than 34 million Bolivians were allocated. The amount included a bed of more than 21,000 bolivianos and dishes of more than 33,000.

The then president, Evo Morales, promoter of the project, occupied the presidential floor and governed from that building until his resignation in 2019.

After his departure from him, former temporary president Jeanine Añez decided to return the presidential offices and rooms to the former Government Palace and the San Jorge residence, respectively. Only the floors that housed five ministries remained in operation.

It was during the hard times of the pandemic that it was decided to install a control and coordination center for the fight against covid in Morales' suite, and on floors 22 and 23.

From the beginning of the transition in November 2019, until his departure from him in November 2020, there were no purchases of supplies or services for maintenance.

These were not taken up again until the second half of 2021, during the Luis Arce administration. The president returned the presidential offices to the new premises. It should be noted that Arce does not reside in the suite of the Casa Grande del Pueblo or in the residence of San Jorge. He preferred to keep his home in Miraflores, within the framework of his austerity policy. 

Venqis SA, the Panamanian company that complicates the President's son

 The CEO of Venqis supported the MAS campaign and is related to Marcelo Arce, advisor to YPFB Chaco. The Panamanian firm is fighting to be awarded the gas exploitation strategy in a protected area.

A commission of opposition deputies is investigating the Panamanian company Venqis SA, which seeks to be awarded the communication strategy for the YPFB Chaco project “Astillero X1”, a gas well in a protected area of ​​Tarija. The director of the firm, the Brazilian Andre Golabek, who faced legal proceedings in his country and in Panama, supported the electoral campaign of Luis Arce. The investigation will extend to the President's son, Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, current advisor to YPFB Chaco.

In a letter addressed to that state company, dated July 2, 2021, Golabek presents his company: “At Venqis SA we have been developing our experience in institutional communication in several countries, highlighting political strategies, management of government organizations and their interaction with citizens, as well as crisis management at the local level”, says the note.

This letter accompanies the proposal presented by the Panamanian firm for the LS-2021-40 process "Services for the production and dissemination of communication products for the Shipyard area", convened by YPFB Chaco, for the preparation of a campaign that counteracts the voices criticism of the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the protected area of ​​Tariquía.

Venqis's proposal included a Communication strategy, two audiovisuals for TV, four videos for social networks, six digital graphics products, including the dissemination of products for three months and payment to the work team, budgeted 1,271,440 bolivianos, equivalent to 184,700 dollars, exactly the same amount stated in the specification document that YPFB Chaco published three days later.

The applicant company also fully coincided with the components that the contracting party had considered. “The LS-2021-40 process was not awarded to Venqis. It was not awarded and it has already ended, without contracting, ”said the YPFB communication director, Óscar Salazar, in a brief contact with Página Siete.

However, the background of the participation of the CEO of Venqis in the electoral campaign of Luis Arce, added to complaints of previous hirings to the Panamanian company, which are denied by YPFB Chaco, raised doubts in the Tarija opposition deputies.

“We are forming a commission of opposition parliamentarians; however, we are also sending a letter to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Freddy Mamani, so that a commission can also be formed in the Legislative Assembly, understanding that the Venqis company has supported Luis Arce's campaign at the time and there is a feeling that this was a political favor that is intended to be paid with the money of all Bolivians,” Tarijeña deputy Luciana Campero (CC) told Page Seven.

The assemblywoman pointed out the similarities of this Panamanian company with the Mexican Neurona Consulting that between 2017 and 2018, during the administration of Evo Morales, was awarded direct contracts for 12.4 million Bolivians for communication campaigns.

For the case, a process was opened for corruption and economic damage to the State that, finally, was dismissed in the Bolivian justice without clues about those responsible for the payments.

Venqis and his director

“46 political campaigns and successful institutional changes in the last five years”, is how the company Venqis SA presents itself, on its official website. It promotes four specialty units: leadership, elections, institutional, and technology and intelligence. According to the site, the firm has offices in Spain, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

Data from the Public Registry of Panama show that the company was created on September 7, 2015. Three people appear on the board of the company: Andre Golabek, as president; Georgina-Amalia Jianu, secretary; and Tatiana Cristina Núñez Barreno, treasurer.

However, the same Registry records in 2019 the dismissal of Golabek as president of Venqis, together with the director and the treasurer. The date coincides with the investigation of the company for irregular awarding of contracts in Panama.

The Panamanian newspaper La Prensa described Venqis SA as "a company friendly to the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)" and reported that the firm benefited from contracts from various state institutions totaling at least $658,000, all of them for products communication and advertising.

The director of Venqis, André Golabek Sánchez, for his part, faced 15 legal proceedings in Brazil in the last decade, according to the specialized portal Jusbrasil. Most of them are labor and tax lawsuits; but there are two penalties in the registry for extrajudicial execution of title. Page Seven insisted on knowing the businessman's version, but did not respond to the requirements.

In bell?

Speaking to the newspaper El Deber, Andre Golabek admitted having worked on Luis Arce's election campaign. The strategist said that he supported “like so many people who believe in the government proposal of President Luis Arce. We weren't really hired by anyone. It was a contribution from capable people who are committed to a political project.”

Asked about Golabek's participation in the MAS campaign, Marianela Paco assured that she has no reference. "I worked alone with the militancy," she told Page Seven.

Other sources within MAS agree that neither the Brazilian strategist nor the firm Venqis worked on Luis Arce's campaign. The sudden appearance of the Brazilian businessman once the elections have been won, they say, causes annoyance in the bases and they were the ones who uncovered the case.

His version is that the strategist came to YPFB Chaco through a friendly relationship with the President's son, Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, who worked and is currently an advisor at the state company. Golabek, however, denied this situation.

parliamentary inquiry

The commission of deputies that investigates the Brazilian strategist and Venqis also includes Arce Mosqueira, as announced by deputy Campero.

Luis Marcelo, the eldest son of President Luis Arce, worked until 2021 at YPFB's headquarters and then moved to YPFB Chaco. In both he held managerial positions, admitted the spokesman for the state company, Juan Carlos Ortiz, on Monday.

After the denunciations of nepotism of union leaders and trustees of YPFB, presented by the pro-government deputy Rolando Cuéllar, the CC bench announced that it will request a report from the oil company. 

Venqis Company

    Venqis The company Venqis was created on September 7, 2015, according to the Public Registry of Panama.

    Areas The company has four units: leadership, elections, institutional, and technology and intelligence, according to its website.

    Offices Its official site says that the firm has offices in Spain, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

    Panama The firm was benefited with contracts from Panamanian state institutions for at least 658 thousand dollars, according to local media. It was investigated.

    CEO The director of Venqis is the Brazilian Andre Golabek Sánchez, who faced 15 legal processes in his country in the last decade.

Former President Áñez celebrates the fourth day of fasting isolated and incommunicado from her family

 He only receives visits from his lawyers. After complaining, she was allowed to receive a visit from her relatives the next week. Her daughter denounces that prison doctors are insensitive.

With broken health and incommunicado, this is how former president Jeanine Áñez completes her fourth day of hunger strike in the Miraflores prison in La Paz. The former president took the extreme measure in the face of the announcements of trials and the unfavorable rulings against her by the justice system, which accuses her of carrying out a coup against former President Evo Morales, who resigned in 2019 overwhelmed by the social conflicts that erupted after indications of fraud in the elections of that year.

In an interview on the program ¡Qué Semana!, which is broadcast every Saturday on EL DEBER Radio, Carolina Ribera Áñez -daughter of the former president- reported that Áñez is isolated in her cell without being able to receive a visit from any family member.

The most unfortunate, according to Ribera, is the deteriorated state of health of her mother and the isolation to which she has been subjected by the Penitentiary Regime. In fact, the only contact that the former president has is with her lawyers, who reported on the deteriorating state of health of Jeanine Áñez.

“My mother begins her fourth day of hunger strike, I have not been able to see her. She remains firm and determined; She is not going to live in a country where injustice and abuse of power prevail, despite her delicate health situation, ”said Ribera.

The daughter of the former head of state also denounced that the Penitentiary Regime does not allow her to see her mother, which generates mistrust about her health. “Doctors are insensitive, they lie without batting an eyelid. God grant that they prioritize my mother's health. She is totally incommunicado, she only sees her lawyers, ”said the young woman.

During the conflicts of 2019 that arose due to indications of fraud in the elections of that year, Áñez took the reins of the State through constitutional succession, after the resignation of Evo Morales. However, when leaving power, the former authority denounced a coup d'état forged by civic leaders, police and military.

Morales' resignation occurred on November 10, 2019. For two days there was a power vacuum and after several negotiations that included supporters of the MAS, the constitutional succession of Áñez was agreed, who took the reins of the country on November 12. month.

Before that, she did not participate in any protest activities. Her rise to power came as a surprise even to her own party, which did not count her on the security list in that year's elections. She was a senator for Beni, and as the second vice president of the Bolivian Chamber of Senators, she came to power by constitutional succession.

However, the government that is in the hands of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), questioned this process, even accused it of being part of the so-called coup d'état, a story that the ruling party has tried to impose since it regained power in the elections of 2020. In this sense, it initiated processes against all the former authorities of the transitional government, including Áñez.

"She is so weak that I honestly don't know how long she will resist, but she will continue until her body and her health allow it," Ribera said.

Related to the MAS ask for the resignation of Senator Padilla, accused of rape

 The Intercultural Women ask that the crime not go unpunished and suggest the expulsion of the blue party parliamentarian. The issue gained strength due to the investigation of unpunished cases from the Government.

After the arrest and transfer to Santa Cruz of Hilarión Padilla Mamani, substitute senator of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) for La Paz, who is accused of rape, from the peasant sector they ask for his resignation and his expulsion from the blue party.

It was precisely the leader of Mujeres Interculturales, Cristina Galeán, the spokeswoman who asked for Padilla's resignation, emphasizing that the act of rape should not go unpunished. "Whoever has committed the crime has to pay for it even though he is from the MAS. Ethically, he has to say 'see you later,'" she told the media.

The leader pointed out that, as members of the political instrument, they are not going to allow this to go without a sentence and pointed out that justice is not reliable, for which they expect a severe sanction against the official senator.

At the moment, the Ethics Commission of the Upper House is evaluating Padilla's situation. “A whole process must be carried out, there are specific business days to meet in the commission. A formal complaint must be filed. The defendant has 15 days to respond to any accusation, the complaint must be accompanied by proper evidence, the commission analyzes and decides whether to admit the complaint. We do not act ex officio,” said the president of the commission, Luis Adolfo Flores (MAS).

The MAS senator has an arrest warrant since October of last year. Despite the fact that the Sixth Investigating Court for Anti-Corruption and Violence Against Women, in Santa Cruz, had requested cooperation from their peers in La Paz, the seat of government did nothing to apprehend the accused.

However, the issue gained strength after the government announced that it would investigate the cases that had gone unpunished and where prosecutors and judges had favored the accused.

According to the complaint, the victim told prosecutors that she had worked in the MAS campaign and was asking for a job. The senator who was friendly with her family asked the girl to travel to La Paz and offered her jobs at the General Personal Identification Service (Segip) or at YPFB.

The victim traveled to the seat of government together with her mother and surprised Padilla Mamani who was waiting alone for the girl. Even so, it was on that trip that he took the opportunity to sexually harass her and the victim returned to Santa Cruz. After a while she was able to relate the events to her mother. So they decided to file the complaint against the MAS senator.

It is expected that in the next few hours, the senator will be seated in the dock and his precautionary hearing will be installed.

Hilarión Padilla is currently being held in the police cells of Santa Cruz, awaiting his precautionary hearing.

Judge suspends trial against Áñez after admitting procedural failures

 After the identification of procedural errors such as the non-compliance with deadlines, the absence of signatures of the titular judges (due to vacation) in the issuance of documents on the process, the claim because the three judges of the room were not visible and the problems in the connectivity In the virtual hearing, the First Anti-Corruption Sentencing Court of La Paz determined yesterday, through a resolution, to annul the order to open the trial against former president Jeanine Áñez and eight former high-ranking officers of the Armed Forces and the Police in the case. called coup d'état II.

The request for the trial to take place in person was also recurrent among the lawyers of the accused, during the virtual hearing that took place yesterday morning.

And while the virtual debate was taking place, at the doors of the anti-corruption court, groups related to the Movement Towards Socialism and the defenders of former president Jeanine Áñez were about to face blows. Police intervention prevented further violence.

On January 18 of this year, an opening order was issued for the trial of the former president and former military and police officials for the crimes of resolutions contrary to the Constitution and the laws, and breach of duties. The lawyers for the defendants observed that the trial must take place within 20 to 45 days of the order to open the trial; however, 17 working days passed, failing to comply with article 343 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

“The First Anti-Corruption Sentencing Court of the capital, without entering into further considerations of a legal order, unanimously decides to annul the order to open the trial dated January 18, 2022,” declared the president of the court Germán Ramos , who did not set a new trial date. The other two judges on the court are Marco Antonio Vargas Yupanqui and Liz Avilez Condori.

Disorder

The hearing for the start of the oral trial was scheduled for 9:00, however, with a delay, a pre-trial hearing was given way, which was characterized by disorder, interference and constant noise that prevented the parties from being heard with clarity. Present at the hearing were judges, lawyers for the accused, and representatives of the accusing party, such as the Public Ministry, the Ministry of Government, the Senate, and others.

The Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, pointed out that the annulment of the oral trial was due to procedural sanitation and indicated that the process is expected to continue in March.

In this regard, Jeanine Áñez's lawyer, Alain de Canedo, observed "gross" irregularities in the process, including that the order to open the trial was issued by a single judge.

Defenders of the former president and related to the MAS fight at the court doors

While the first virtual hearing of the trial against Jeanine Áñez and former military chiefs was taking place, on the street, at the doors of the Departmental Court of Justice of La Paz, there were threats of confrontation between defenders of the former president who consider her to be a "political prisoner" and related to the ruling party that point to her as a "coup leader" due to the 2019 crisis.

Two groups of people arrived at Colón Street in the city of La Paz, near the Anti-Corruption Court, some with signs showing their support and demanding justice for Áñez, and others asking for jail for the former interim president.

Áñez's daughter, Carolina Ribera, arrived at the point accompanied by the president of the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights of Bolivia, Amparo Carvajal, wearing a mask with the text "justice for Jeanine" and a T-shirt with the message "it was succession constitutional".

With her arrival, tension arose between both sides that were getting closer and closer and the policemen got in the middle of the groups, but that was not enough, since the group that asked for "jail" for Áñez began to launch eggs.

Then senators and deputies from the opposition group of We Believe arrived to express their support for Áñez's family in the midst of the tension.

As the pro-government supporters continued to throw things, Áñez's supporters began to withdraw amid heavy police guard.

Lawyers for defendants request face-to-face session

The Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, expressed yesterday after the suspension of the trial against former president Jeanine Áñez that the Government "respects due process" and "respects the decision of the Bolivian Justice" that is acting "independently".

Regarding Áñez's defense request that it be a face-to-face hearing, Lima indicated that it is a point that must be analyzed by the judges, but that the Government will provide "the best conditions" whether virtual or face-to-face.

Jorge Valda, one of Áñez's lawyers, demanded during his intervention the suspension of the hearing due to the connection problems that he himself experienced and due to the "violation of the principle of immediacy".

"We do not know who is behind the screens because we are not seeing it, as my client is not seeing them, as none of the defendants and none of the accusers are seeing them, for which this aspect violates the principle of immediacy," the lawyer said.

Another of Áñez's lawyers, Luis Guillén, said that "when this new order is issued" it is considered that the hearing should be held in person.

For her part, the senator of Creo Centa Rek maintained that it is a "mounted trial" against Áñez and that a trial by ordinary justice does not correspond as she is a former president.

"The government wants to generate this confrontation, it wants to generate a climate of violence, why so much hatred?" Rek questioned.

Áñez, in preventive detention for almost 11 months in a prison in La Paz, is also being prosecuted for another case called "coup d'état I" on alleged charges of sedition, conspiracy and terrorism.  

Añez declares a hunger strike in the Miraflores prison

 The former president affirmed that she is ill and that she will use her "last strength" to demonstrate that electoral fraud was committed in 2019.

Former president Jeanine Añez declared herself on a hunger strike this Wednesday morning in the Miraflores prison, one day after the start of the trial against her for the Golpe II case.

"Bolivians: today from my cell in Miraflores, La Paz, I make one of the hardest decisions of my life. Today I am going on a hunger strike. I am desperate to see a country without justice or law. I see that my action can help the international community understands that justice belongs to Evo Morales and Luis Arce”, reads a letter written by the former president and read this morning to Página Siete Digital by her daughter, Carolina Ribera.

The former president indicated that she is ill and that she will use her "last strength" to demonstrate that electoral fraud was committed in 2019.

"I am sick, but I will use my last strength to show Bolivia and the world that these macho men of power will not be able to erase from history that they committed fraud. That they were found and resigned escaping from the country."

In addition, in the letter she asks her children to "fight for freedom" and that the country "does not forget her history."

"To my children: Bolivia is beautiful, love it, value it, fight for it and above all fight for freedom, that no tyrant take it away from you. I apologize to God for this action against me, but I hope that he can give me strength to understand its design and that my country does not forget its history”.

Añez she is accused of the alleged commission of the crimes of resolutions contrary to the Constitution and the laws and breach of duties.

In the case for which the trial against her will begin tomorrow, the former commander of the Armed Forces Williams Kaliman, the former commander of the Police Yuri Calderón and six other officers are also prosecuted.

Del Castillo says that precautions will be taken to take care of Evo's life

 The former president indicated that he is subject to "permanent monitoring."

The Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, announced this Monday that they will take measures to protect the life of the head of the MAS, Evo Morales, who on Sunday assured that he is being spied on and asked the Luis Arce administration for guarantees.

"In the case of a former president who feels persecuted, the corresponding precautions will be taken to protect his life and his integrity," Del Castillo declared at the press conference to present the recaptured beneficiaries by Judge Rafael Alcón.

Former President Morales denounced that he is being spied on and that he is subject to permanent monitoring. That is why he asked the government to guarantee his safety and added that he is investigating whether these actions come "from the right" or from the United States Embassy.

“We denounce that we are being persecuted, spied on and subjected to permanent monitoring. We are investigating whether these illegal actions come from the right or the US Embassy. Our government must control these groups and guarantee the safety of the people,” the former president tweeted yesterday.

Morales' complaints come after the United States Department of State published on Wednesday the photo of the former director of the Special Force Against Drug Trafficking Maximiliano Dávila to offer a reward of five million dollars for information on his links with drug trafficking, the which will lead to a conviction against you.

The US government also formally requested the Foreign Ministry, the preventive detention of Dávila for extradition purposes.

Justice is harsh in five opposition cases and does not act with the ruling party

 Community Citizen maintains that the "partialization of justice is reprehensible." In the Movement Towards Socialism they state that no one will be undermined, be it from the ruling party or the opposition side

Five cases show that the administration of justice system is implacable with opponents, but does not act in the case of pro-government supporters. The opposition points out that justice is biased and applies a "double standard" in its actions. The Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), on the other hand, indicates that those who commit crimes should be punished, regardless of their strength.

“When it comes to an opposition mayor, whoever he is, they immediately act, which is not bad. So, with that speed, you should act with everyone. But when it comes to their mayors, their authorities, they do not act. This partialization of justice is reprehensible”, declared Senator Andrea Barrientos, of the Citizen Community (CC).

From the MAS, deputy Sandro Ramírez said that those who commit crimes should be punished, regardless of the party they are from. “The message from our brother president Luis Arce has been clear: that all those who commit crimes will not be undermined, will not be hidden, must be punished, whether they belong to any political party, whether they are from the opposition or from the ruling party” , assured.

The Santos and Mamani cases

The governor of La Paz, Santos Quispe (Jallalla), was caught Tuesday night with alcoholic beverages and in a drunken state in his office. He was apprehended and transferred to police cells. The Prosecutor's Office charged him with the alleged commission of the crimes of improper use of public goods and services and obstruction of justice.

On Thursday, in the precautionary hearing, the First Anti-Corruption Court determined his house arrest with the right to work, a root and, in addition, set a bail of 70,000 bolivianos and a prohibition to consume alcoholic beverages.

The same did not happen in Potosí, where the case of the irregular purchase of 41 ambulances for 20.5 million Bolivians broke out. The contract was signed between Governor Jhonny Mamani (MAS) and the supplier company Estefals Logistics, on November 26, 2021.

The Potosi Government denounced 17 subordinates and opened a process against the supplier company, but did not take any action against Mamani. On the other hand, the Prosecutor's Office did not act ex officio, but there are two complaints that were admitted.

Arias and Chavez

The same day that Iván Arias (Somos Pueblo) was released as mayor of the city of La Paz, on May 4, 2021, he was summoned to a hearing in the framework of the case of an alleged irregular appointment in the position of director of the Center for Communications La Paz, when he was serving as Minister of Public Works (December 2019 - November 2020).

The Prosecutor charged Arias for the alleged commission of the crimes of breach of duties and others. On June 18, 2021, in a precautionary hearing, Judge Claudia Castro determined his arrest and a bail of 30,000 bolivianos.

The opposition asks that attorney Wilfredo Chávez be prosecuted in the same way, because on February 2 it was learned that Ibert René Renato Aguilar Mamani, sentenced since 2017 for improper exercise of the profession, works as general director of administrative affairs in the Attorney General's Office of the Condition. However, the Prosecutor's Office did not comment on the matter.

The conviction against Aguilar was finalized in January and the Constitution, in its article 234, establishes that in order to access the performance of public functions it is required not to have a finalized charge sheet, nor a finalized conviction in criminal matters.

Ghost Items and Las Londras

The Ghost Items case broke out in November 2021, as a result of a complaint filed by Valeria Rodríguez against her ex-partner Antonio Parada, former director of Human Resources of the Santa Cruz Mayor's Office. That complaint revealed the existence of 800 ghost items.

The action of the State Attorney General's Office (FGE) entered the scene on December 3, when it formed a "special commission", which it sent from Sucre (Chuquisaca) so that it can "carry out an inspection and supervision" of the case. On December 5, the Government announced that it would join as a plaintiff, and on November 19, former President Evo Morales told Attorney General Juan Lanchipa: “It is time to put order” in the case.

After that statement, days later, former mayor Angélica Sosa (Santa Cruz Para Todos) was arrested and on December 24, a judge sent her to Palmasola for preventive detention.

The FGE did not send a "special commission" from Sucre for the Las Londras case. The incident occurred on October 28, in the ranch called Las Londras, in Guarayos (Santa Cruz), when journalists from five media outlets, in addition to police and civilians, were illegally held for seven hours by an irregular group. The communicators went to the place to verify reports of subjugation. A day later, the Prosecutor's Office opened the investigation.

Contradictions arose about the incident and its alleged link with the Interculturals, one of the MAS organizations. On October 31, the leader Isidro Patzi supported "those comrades" who entered "to grab a piece of land." However, on November 2, another intercultural leader, Guido Cuadrado, stated that "we don't even have an intercultural person on that property."

On November 24, 2021, the Police presented Heber Sixto Canaza as the main accused of leading the kidnapping in Las Londras. However, more than three months have passed and no progress has been made in the investigations, as journalists from Santa Cruz stated on January 28, when they protested with a sit-in at the Command.

Revilla and Vera

The Public Ministry issued an arrest warrant against former mayor Luis Revilla (Sol.Bo), on January 24, the same day that Jesús Vera, a neighborhood leader and former MAS candidate, said that the Prosecutor's Office should issue an arrest warrant against the former authority.

Five days later, Revilla declared himself in hiding, before his wife was summoned to testify in the framework of the case in which Vera accuses the former mayor of buying the PumaKatari buses at an overpriced price.

Vera, president of the Federation of Neighborhood Councils of La Paz related to MAS, is the main accused of the burning of 66 PumaKatari buses, which occurred on the night of November 10, 2019. The complaint was filed on November 15, 2019 by the alleged commission of the crimes of criminal organization, public incitement to commit a crime, destruction or deterioration of State property and national wealth, and aggravated robbery. The neighborhood leader is under house arrest, which the municipality denounces that he violated.

Colcapirhua case

On Thursday, the mayor of Colcapirhua, Nelson Gallinate (CC), was arrested after his offices were raided. He is accused of the alleged irregular purchase of nasal antigen tests for the diagnosis of covid.

The CC management suspended Gallinate while the investigation continues and clarifies his alleged involvement. The alliance also expressed its distrust in the judicial system and prosecutors, for their way of acting.

“We maintain our distrust in the actions of the justice system and the prosecutors, clearly controlled by the MAS, who act in a totally servile and biased manner in cases such as that of the Governor of Potosí, who is protected and managed, while They intervene with imprisonment and spectacular police actions, in other events that have to do with opposition authorities,” said CC.

The governor of Potosí says that he does not give a "fuck" what the media say about the ambulance case

 "Sometimes, when the right attacks us, it is because we have committed a simple crime, working hand in hand with our people," said the masista authority without making further reference to the issue.

With the case of the 41 'ghost' ambulances acquired by the Government of Potosí still unresolved, the highest departmental authority, Jhonny Mamani, stepped forward to say that the corruption case detected is an "attack from the right" and that "give a damn" what the media says about it.

The complaint about this alleged case of corruption not only affects the governor, but also the upper echelons of his environment, since a series of irregularities were detected that were also observed by the central administration of the Movement Toward Socialism, a political bloc that is also Mommy replies.

The authority participated in an act held in Uncía, capital of the Bustillo province of the department of Potosí to participate in the festival of the Virgen de la Candelaria. In the place, he said that he is the governor thanks to the votes of that region and, in that sense, he accepted the project that was presented to him for the construction of an educational unit.

According to the report of the newspaper El Potosí, Mamani pointed out that, by decision of the applicants, the new school will be called María Ayma, in homage to the mother of the MAS leader, Juan Evo Morales.

However, what caught our attention was his reference to the observations that exist regarding the acquisition of ambulances, a subject to which he did not refer openly, but rather referred to what was already mentioned and highlighted that "sometimes, when the right attacks, it is because we have committed a simple crime, working hand in hand with our people".

He added: "What we promise, we fulfill. We are not a cartel of lies."

The videos of his stay in Uncía were published on the official Facebook account of the Government of Potosí. In them you can see that almost all the people are crowded and without a mask. Mamani himself speaks openly, according to the report.

At the moment, the ambulance case has not yet been resolved, but from the central government they affirm that there are serious indications of corruption, just as they reiterated that they will not tolerate these events.

Governor Quispe is taken to the Felcc after being surprised with alcoholic beverages in his office

 The governor of La Paz, Santos Quispe, was taken early this Wednesday to the offices of the Special Force to Fight Crime (Felcc), after being surprised in an apparent state of drunkenness and with alcoholic beverages inside his office.

“They called us at midnight because of the noise that was in the Government, we have caught him in a drunken state and it is unfortunate that the first authority of La Paz is in this state,” said Assemblyman Israel Alanoca, who broadcast the moment on Facebook. in which they entered Quispe's office and surprised him while he was consuming alcoholic beverages.

The assemblyman maintained that when they received the complaint and arrived at the Governor's office, he was locked in the office along with other people.

"He was already locked up when we arrived and there are other people," Alanoca is heard saying on the broadcast.

Governor Quispe, in his office, in front of a bag with beer cans.

At the time of the intervention, one of the people who accompanied the Governor tried in vain to stop the television cameras and cell phones from recording Quispe, while he asked to speak to the press.

“I want to talk to the press for a while. These tests have been implanted in me, you know that they have implanted me and a thousand things are going to be done. I came from a place to rest here because I have activity at 5:00, but those people are always going to give me beer, whatever it is”, declared the Governor.

Quispe insisted that his detractors were accusing him without foundation and that everything that happened is part of a new attempt to remove him from the Government.

"They have implanted me... my conscience is clear, let them implant it. They are going to want to remove me all my life, they will want to remove me, I am not afraid because after all those people have implanted me, a thousand things are going to implant here, I they are going to want to get rid of the government," he declared.

After a few minutes, the police arrived at the scene and Quispe was taken to the Felcc offices, where he spent the night and only at six in the morning was he transferred to the police cells, where he remains at this time (7:40), reported Unitel.

Assemblywoman María Esther Góngora announced that they will request the removal of the Governor, since as the main authority of La Paz he ordered restrictions due to the pandemic.

“We have found him drinking in the midst of a pandemic, he should set an example. We are going to request the dismissal of the Governor before the people of La Paz”, said the legislator.

On June 13 of last year, the Governor was involved in another police act related to alcohol consumption and the use of an official vehicle of the Government, in which he and his companion had an accident in the southern area of ​​La Peace.