-
Luis Fernando Camacho, governor of Santa Cruz department and regional leader in 2019 protests against Evo Morales, has been arrested in the Coup d'état investigation surrounding that crisis. His supporters responded with airport protests and a home arson. #CamachoAprehendido
-
Luis Fernando Camacho is being held on "terrorism" charges related to the 2019 protests, as part of the Caso Golpe de Estado 1 investigation begun in response to a complaint by MAS-IPSP legislator Lidia Patty. la-razon.com/nacional/2022/12/28/la-orden-de-aprehension-para-el-gobernador-camacho-fue-emitida-el-31-de-octubre/ #CamachoAprehendido
-
The 2019 protests challenged what they claimed was electoral fraud in the October elections. They alleged that Evo Morales avoided a runoff through electoral malfeasance. In their third week, protests converged with a police mutiny; Camacho was a key figure in the alliance.
-
Bolivia has a long history of disruptive protest, backed by wide social acceptance of forms of mass collective action and the presumed obligation of presidents to yield to mass repudiation. Unless linked to very extreme actions, "terrorism" charges run counter to this tradition.
-
Camacho stands accused in eight separate judicial proceedings. The detention order executed today was from October.
-
Camacho in a video three days ago: "Minister, it is you who are at the head of this, who are seeking to incriminate me in cases of violence. Don't be a coward: if you want, detain me, detain me, come here and detain me." elpais.com/internacional/2022-12-28/detenido-el-gobernador-boliviano-de-santa-cruz-luis-fernando-camacho.html
-
Camacho in original Spanish: “Ministro, usted que encabeza esto, que está buscando incriminarme con casos de violencia, no sea cobarde: si quiere, deténgame, deténgame, venga, deténgame.”
-
Camacho's Comité Cívico de Santa Cruz / Comité Pro-Santa Cruz termed the arrest an "illegal kidnapping." Its supporters mobilized instantly. Centrist opposition leader Carlos Mesa, president 2003-05 and runner-up in 2019, also called it a kidnapping. @carlosdmesag/1608185993231745024
-
El País (Madrid) reports: "A group of hundreds of the governor's sympathizers, led by regional authorities and [parliamentary] deputies, headed to the Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz. There, they overwhelmed and beat security personnel…
-
“invaded the runway, entered some of the airplanes waiting to take off, and obliged the passengers to disembark, to prevent Camacho from being taken from Santa Cruz. They didn't find him. …
-
“Despite this, they decided to paralyze the airport after [Camacho's] detention. A group also burnt the offices of the [National] Prosecutor of Santa Cruz." elpais.com/internacional/2022-12-28/detenido-el-gobernador-boliviano-de-santa-cruz-luis-fernando-camacho.html
-
Pro-Camacho newspaper El Deber reports a "night of fury" that has consumed three buildings: the prosecutor's office, a drug control office that has been used for negotiations w/ the national govt, and the home of Minister Edgar Montaño. eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/noche-de-furia-queman-tres-inmuebles-y-siguen-los-enfrentamientos-en-el-comando-de-policia_309201
-
Opposition newspaper Página Siete also details these arsons. paginasiete.bo/nacional/se-desborda-la-violencia-en-santa-cruz-y-reportan-el-incendio-del-edificio-del-exconaltid-LA5828386
-
Comité pro Santa Cruz spokesman states: "Today we have a people in the streets exercising their right to protest." Claims "Those who burned the Prosecutor's Office were infiltrators, seeking to put blame on the Cruceño people." paginasiete.bo/nacional/se-desborda-la-violencia-en-santa-cruz-y-reportan-el-incendio-del-edificio-del-exconaltid-LA5828386
-
Note: this statement seems to have been issued by a local civic movement organization in Concepción. facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0frJJA2HZtjC2dZVxZP9T6TBSmhAk4tgNxu9Wcb4J5v7rt29oHhZg5Fw1RRnbiaZLl&id=100049144585508

