Police forces in Bolivia arrested 43-year-old far-right opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho, the current Santa Cruz department governor, on terrorism charges yesterday. His arrest follows weeks of intense conflict between the government and the country’s easternmost region.
The detention sparked outrage among the leader’s supporters, with reports of vandalism in the streets of Santa Cruz and the invasion of two nearby airports. Staff and supporters of Mr. Camacho tweeted that the leader had been “kidnapped by the government” and complained of violent police behavior.
The detention was first confirmed by Bolivia’s Government Minister Carlos Eduardo del Castillo. A few hours later, the country’s Prosecution Office stated that the arrest is linked to Mr. Camacho’s role in the 2019 coup d’etat against former President Evo Morales.
Prosecutors denied rumors of “political persecution or kidnapping,” saying the decision relates to an arrest warrant issued in October, and that Mr. Camacho himself is aware of the process since 2020.
— Fiscalía de Bolivia (@FGE_Bolivia) December 28, 2022
Mr. Camacho led an uprising against the Morales administration in 2019, following a controversial re-election attempt and allegations of fraud, forcing Mr. Morales into exile. The fraud was never proven, and Mr. Morales’ Movement Towards Socialism (MAS, in Spanish) would return to power one year later in a landslide election win from its more moderate presidential candidate Luis Arce.
Coup leaders were sent to trial after MAS’s return to power, and Mr. Camacho’s supporters fear that he could end up like former interim president Jeanine Áñez, who was sentenced to ten years in prison last June for her involvement in the coup.
Mr. Camacho’s Creemos (“We Believe”) right-wing alliance came third in the 2020 presidential race, with 14 percent of votes. Despite the defeat, the results paved the way for his bid as governor in the 2021 regional elections.
Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s richest and most productive region, is a known opposition stronghold with a long history of conflicts with the central government. It recently promoted a 36-day strike protesting over a delayed national census. Mr. Camacho was also one of the figures behind the demonstrations.
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