The Bolivian Justice has issued this Saturday six months of preventive prison against the former prosecutor of the department of La Paz, Luis Carlos Torrez, investigated for alleged crimes of drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal organization, within the case that has also led to the detention of the Attorney General of the country, Róger Mariaca, and other high-ranking officials of the judiciary.
In the judicial hearing, the judge has resolved that the former departmental prosecutor be transferred to the San Pedro prison, in the city of La Paz, where he must serve this precautionary measure of half a year, while his defense rejects the charges and has announced that it will appeal the ruling.
"It is false that a weapon was found in his home, it is false that money and other things were found in his home, for that reason all these elements, all these arguments put forward and wielded by the Public Ministry will be demonstrated in the course of the investigation," communicated the defense attorney, Marvin Astorga, in statements collected by the newspaper 'El Deber'.
The arrest of Torrez is framed within the so-called Mariaca operation, which has as its main accused the former Attorney General, accused of money trafficking and drug trafficking, launched at the beginning of October after the U.S. Department of State put Mariaca and other high and former high officials of Bolivia under scrutiny, to whom entry to the country has been banned and sanctions have been imposed.
According to 'El Deber', although the accusation against Torrez is based on trafficking controlled substances, no type of drug has been found in the various proceedings.
"The resolution issued by the authority today has been appealed, since in the opinion of the technical defense of Mr. Torrez, several elements would not concur, including the probability of authorship regarding the crimes he is being accused of," expressed the defense attorney.
The legal representation of Torrez has avoided commenting on a possible motivation or political persecution against the former departmental prosecutor and has emphasized that it will focus its strategy on strictly technical aspects, while admitting that it has not addressed this point with its client.
For now, Torrez remains in custody at the facilities of the Special Force for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (FELCN), awaiting the determination of the day and time of his entry into the San Pedro prison, in La Paz.