The Bolivian Executive has raised to 26 the number of nationals related to the Armed Forces of Russia, of which 20 have active contracts. According to the authorities, four of them have been injured and are hospitalized in field hospitals, and one has lost his life, in the context of the investigations opened in La Paz regarding the alleged recruitment of Bolivians to be sent to Russia and deployed on the front in Ukraine.
"We have registered 26 cases of Bolivian citizens under monitoring linked to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. 20 maintain active contracts, 19 reported soldiers are pending confirmation of their current location," reported the Bolivian Foreign Minister, Fernando Aramayo.
In the same appearance, the head of Bolivian diplomacy pointed out the presence of "four confirmed injured in field hospitals, one of them in the process of military disengagement." He also indicated that "there is one citizen alive and stable, there is one deceased, and one citizen successfully repatriated to Bolivia."
After detailing these figures, Aramayo emphasized the diplomatic and consular efforts of his ministry, including the deployment of a delegation to a Russian-controlled area of Donetsk "to personally verify the situation of one of our compatriots and manage his resignation from the Russian Armed Forces."
The minister also mentioned an "extraordinary high-level meeting with the Russian ambassador in Bolivia, Mr. Dimitri Verchenko," from which a "bilateral roadmap and a direct information channel to give priority follow-up to all these cases" would have been articulated.
"Naturally, we have submitted a set of verbal notes to request not only information about location but also to provide technical assistance and, in some cases, as appropriate, to manage the disengagement of Bolivian citizens," he added.
In light of this scenario, he emphasized that the investigations "are now in the hands of the judicial authorities, because it corresponds to these authorities for families to present actions that allow the Prosecutor's Office to investigate the possible criminal acts linked to this type of action that can be classified as recruitment or mediation."
"This matter corresponds to another organ of power and we are going to be respectful of its competence because they are in the investigative phase and we cannot hinder any type of investigation in this set," he has emphasized.
Within this case, the Bolivian Justice ordered this Sunday the preventive detention of three suspects arrested in the framework of the case for the supposed recruitment of Bolivian citizens. The three are being prosecuted for the crimes of trafficking and trafficking of persons and will remain in preventive detention while the investigations continue.