Guv of the Santa Cruz area, Luis Fernando Camacho, was apprehended following weeks of demonstrations in the area.
Bolivian authorities have actually detained Luis Fernando Camacho, the guv of Santa Cruz and a popular opposition leader, Bolivia’s interior minister stated on Wednesday.
Authorities have actually not described why Camacho was apprehended however he just recently assisted lead weeks of demonstrations that obstructed streets and stopped sell the fairly upscale farm center of Santa Cruz, the biggest of the 9 departments in Bolivia.
The demonstrations associate with the nationwide federal government’s hold-up in performing Bolivia’s population census, which is anticipated to reveal population development in Santa Cruz, leading to more tax profits and seats in Congress for the area.
Santa Cruz– led by Camacho, a member of the Christian conservative union Creemos– has long butted heads with Bolivia’s highland political capital La Paz, under left-wing President Luis Arce.
Camacho was required to a regional airport to be flown to La Paz, regional media reported. Video of the arrest shared by news outlets revealed Camacho handcuffed on the side of the roadway and the windows of the vehicle he was taking a trip in broken. It was not right away clear who taped the video.
Numerous of Camacho’s allies, consisting of political leaders Paola Aguirre and Erwin Bazan, stated guns were utilized in the arrest. Others, consisting of previous President Carlos Mesa, called the arrest a “kidnapping.”
“The operation to abduct the guv was performed in the streets near his house, as he was returning from his tasks,” the Santa Cruz federal government stated in a declaration. “In these minutes, the guv’s location are unidentified.”
Bolivian interior minister Carlos Eduardo Del Castillo stated on Twitter that cops had actually apprehended Camacho, without offering more information.
The Bolivian cops did not right away react to a Reuters ask for remark.
Protesters got in 2 airports in Santa Cruz, video revealed, in an evident effort to avoid Camacho from being transferred to another place. It was uncertain whether Camacho had actually currently been required to La Paz.
Opposition Senator Erik Moron stated in a video Camacho had actually been taken by helicopter to an unidentified place.