La Paz.- Bolivia’s Police arrested one of former President Luis Arce’s sons in the east of the country this Wednesday as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.
Agents arrested Luis Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, the eldest son of Arce (2020-2025), in a building in the residential area of Equipetrol, in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, the most populous in the country, the Deputy Minister of Citizen Security, Rolando Montaño, confirmed to the state channel Bolivia TV.
“The Police have complied with an arrest warrant against the son of former President Luis Arce Catacora, who was located in an apartment in Santa Cruz,” Montaño said.
According to local media, Marcelo Arce was taken to the headquarters of the Special Force for the Fight Against Crime (Felcc) in Santa Cruz, while Montaño indicated that it is not ruled out that he will be transferred to La Paz.
Authorities from the Ministry of Government (Interior) are expected to offer a press conference on this case, of which no further details have been given for now.
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According to the arrest warrant against Marcelo Arce that the state channel disseminated, the former president Arce and his other two children, Rafael and Camila, are also included in this investigation.
In 2023, Marcelo Arce was accused by a deputy affiliated with former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) for allegedly acting as an intermediary between the State and the companies vying for lithium projects without being a public official, based on a recording he published.
The Prosecutor’s Office initially admitted the complaint for this case, but in April 2024 it was rejected because the audio could not be considered as evidence and because Marcelo Arce did not work at the state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB).
On the other hand, last November, the Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office requested the preventive detention for six months for Rafael Arce, for the alleged crimes of illicit enrichment of individuals with harm to the State and misuse of influence.
Rafael Arce, whose whereabouts are unknown, is under investigation in the case known as ‘Adán y Eva’, for the purchase he made in 2021 of more than 2,100 hectares for 3.3 million dollars in Santa Cruz.
In July of last year, it was revealed that Rafael and Camila Arce obtained loans for 9.1 million dollars in six transactions from the same banking entity, which led to the reopening of the investigation.
The Defense of Luis Arce
Luis Arce has been imprisoned since December, due to an investigation into alleged corruption in the management of a state fund for indigenous projects when he was Minister of Economy in the Morales government.
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In October, before leaving power, the then-president told EFE that he would assume his defense against the accusations and “slanders” against him, as well as that of his children, and stated that he never interfered in the Justice system while he was in the Executive branch.
The president, who handed over power on November 8 to Rodrigo Paz, maintained that, once the falsity of the accusations was proven, his children would initiate legal actions against the accusers for the damage caused.
