La Paz, Bolivia
Reuters
—
Bolivian ex-President Luis Arce, who left workplace final month, has been detained by police, a former member of his cupboard mentioned on Wednesday.
Arce might have been referred to as in to testify in relation to an investigation into alleged embezzlement that occurred whereas he was serving as economic system minister beneath former President Evo Morales, Maria Nela Prada, who served as minister to the presidency beneath Arce, advised journalists.
“Of course he’s innocent,” Prada advised journalists. “This has been a total abuse of power. We hope this case is not being taken as an opportunity to carry out political persecution.”
She added that he had not been notified or ordered to seem. “They simply took him,” she mentioned. Reuters was not capable of independently confirm Arce’s whereabouts.
Local media reported {that a} Bolivian specialised police power often called FELCC had detained Arce. FELCC didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The embezzlement investigation facilities round alleged state disbursements from a fund to finance tasks for Indigenous communities.
Investigators cited by native media on Wednesday mentioned proof introduced within the case implicated Arce within the misappropriation of public assets.
The arrest comes lower than two months after centrist candidate Rodrigo Paz received the October runoff election, ending practically 20 years of dominance by the leftist MAS social gathering that Arce represented. Paz has pledged to deal with corruption inside state establishments.