Arce, who left office just one month ago, appeared before Judge Elmer Laura in a virtual hearing on Friday, two days after he was arrested on the streets of La Paz.
By Asaye Bankole
A Bolivian judge has ordered former President Luis Arce to remain in detention for five months as prosecutors investigate allegations that he embezzled millions of dollars from a fund intended for Indigenous communities.
Arce, who left office just one month ago, appeared before Judge Elmer Laura in a virtual hearing on Friday, two days after he was arrested on the streets of La Paz.
The judge rejected appeals by Arce’s legal team for his release and ruled that he must remain in custody while awaiting trial at one of the capital’s largest prisons, citing the seriousness of charges that “directly affect state assets and resources allocated to vulnerable sectors.”
No trial date has been set.
The allegations stem from Arce’s tenure as economy minister under former President Evo Morales from 2006 to 2017.
Authorities claim he oversaw the diversion of about $700 million from a state fund established to channel natural gas revenues into development projects for Indigenous communities and peasant farmers.
Marco Antonio Oviedo, the interior minister in the new right-wing government, described the 62-year-old former president as “the principal person responsible” for authorising the transfer of large sums into the personal accounts of government officials for projects that were never completed.
Arce maintained his innocence during Friday’s hearing, saying he had no direct role in managing the fund and dismissing the case as politically motivated. “I am a scapegoat,” he told the judge. “These accusations are politically motivated.”
His defence lawyers had sought his release on health grounds, citing his past battle with kidney cancer.
However, Judge Laura rejected the request and went beyond the prosecution’s call for three months of detention, ordering Arce to be held for five months in a state prison rather than a juvenile facility.
The case first surfaced nearly a decade ago, in 2015, when the Indigenous fund was shut down amid allegations of corruption, but investigations stalled during the years of governance by the Movement Toward Socialism party.
The probe was revived after conservative President Rodrigo Paz took office last month, bringing an end to almost two decades of left-wing rule in Bolivia.
Former ministers from Arce’s administration have condemned the arrest, calling it an abuse of power and an act of political persecution against the Movement Toward Socialism party.
If convicted, Arce could face up to six years in prison.
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