Bolivia asks Brazil to extradite former minister accused of guiding assassination attempt on Arce

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Bolivian government announced Thursday (21) that it would ask Brazil to extradite Luis Fernando López, who is allegedly responsible for an “attempted assassination” of President Luis Arce. López was defense minister during the de facto government of Jeanine Áñez,

The announcement came after the Bolivian government denounced that Colombian killers and paramilitaries involved in the recent assassination of Haitian President Jovenal Moise had entered Bolivia months earlier to kill Arce – a plot López is alleged to have been behind.

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The government is basing its case on an investigation published by the U.S. news site ‘The Intercept,’ according to which the plan was to prevent Arce from assuming the country’s presidency at all costs.

“In this case, we will request the extradition of Mr. López Julio from Brazil so that he can be held accountable,” said Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo.

López left the country before Arce took office in 2020.

According to del Castillo, the former minister had “constant contacts with these irregular and paramilitary groups through companies with combat experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries” because of the assassination, Bolivian daily La Razón reported.

Bolivia’s Deputy Minister of Citizen Security, Roberto Ríos, said Tuesday that a series of audio files included in The Intercept’s investigation “establish” that López “is the intellectual author of the attempted assassination of the former candidate and current President Arce,” but did not rule out the possibility that others were involved.

Ríos said that the assassination attempt on the current Bolivian president was not carried out because, among other reasons, the authorities took the necessary measures, while Arce, who was aware of these intentions, was very cautious and did not participate in all open-air events.

López is on the run from Bolivian courts and is already facing charges connected to the alleged coup against former President Evo Morales, and the Sacaba and Senkata massacres in November 2019, in addition to overcharging for the purchase of tear gas for security forces.

Bolivian authorities also issued arrest warrants for former armed forces commander Williams Kaliman and former police commander Yuri Calderón after they failed to appear for a hearing investigating the purported coup.

The case is part of an investigation stemming from the complaint filed by a former deputy of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), who accused Luis Fernando Camacho, governor of Santa Cruz and candidate in last year’s presidential elections, of inciting the revolt and overthrow of Evo Morales after the 2019 elections.

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