Bolivian authorities have informed this Friday that Romer Saucedo, the highest-ranking official of the Supreme Court to date, who days ago announced his decision to leave the country citing a “persecution” against him, is now subject to an investigation into alleged crimes of drug trafficking and membership in a criminal organization.
The state attorney general, José Urioste, detailed these points in an appearance before the media, where he specified that both offenses “he did not commit in the exercise of his functions” as head of the high court.
At the same time, Urioste has left open the possibility that the court initiates a specific process against Saucedo for facts linked to his time as president of the Supreme Court, citing the possible crimes of “passive bribery” and “abandonment of office.” These considerations come after the magistrate made public this Wednesday that he had left Bolivia along with his wife and their three children to go to “exile” in response to the “persecution” he denounces and the “lack of security” for him and his family.
In this line, the prosecutor has indicated that Saucedo “would be in some city in Brazil,” although he has stressed that “his whereabouts are being investigated” and that the relevant “migration alerts” have already been activated.
According to preliminary inquiries, Saucedo is accused of having received significant sums of money in exchange for influencing the resolution of a judicial proceeding, Urioste has said when referring to indications of bribery. Specifically, it is being assessed whether he would have received more than one million bolívares (75,000 euros) “for a ruling in the constitutional chamber of the city of Santa Cruz.”