The former military chiefs who are now accused of the crimes of terrorism, sedition, and conspiracy were part of Evo Morales’ circle of trust.
General Williams Kaliman Romero, who was the chief commander and today the main accused of sedition, is the only one who was not arrested. The former MAS deputy Lidia Patty, accuser in this matter, complained to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police, questioning why they “let him escape.” Apparently, he left the national territory.
The other three former military leaders are in custody. The former commander of the Bolivian Air Force (FAB), Jorge Gonzalo Terceros was sent to Palmasola [penitentiary] with preventive detention at the beginning of the month, despite the fact that he reported his actions to Morales until a day after the former President’s resignation.
Besides, he was the fifth of his class; General Jorge Pastor Mendieta, former Army Chief, detained since March, testified that the former Defense Minister, Javier Zavaleta, was at the side of his Commander until Morales left the country. Meanwhile, Admiral Gonzalo Jarjuri, held in the Patacamaya prison, chose to maintain silence in the first instance, and after several requests from his defense; he will make his expanded statement on Thursday, July 22nd.
The members of this High Command took office on the morning of Monday, 24 December 2018.
“Never in the history of our country have the Armed Forces been able to contribute decisively and effectively to the implementation of the different policies and strategic lines drawn up by President Morales,” said Kaliman in his speech after being sworn in. The military man even declared himself a “soldier of the process of change.”
When EL DEBER [Newspaper] asked him after the act if he really was, he confirmed that in fact, he was and that not only him, but “all the military are soldiers of the process of change, we are part of all the positive changes that the State has.”
On the anniversary of the Armed Forces, on 7 August 2019, Kaliman warned that there was no doubt that “the people of Bolivia, the Armed Forces, were born during the fight against the colony and we will die anti-colonialists because it is our pride and our reason for living.”
In his statement before being confined to the Palmasola prison on July 4th, the former Air Forces Commander, a member of that High Command, Gonzalo Terceros, recalled that Evo Morales met with them every Monday. “He was given a report on the country’s situation, politics, coca eradication, the fight against smuggling, national and international intelligence, and the commanders of each force talked about the needs of each one of them.”
In fact, he refers that the last meetings they held were on Saturday, November 9th, and Sunday, November 10th.
Retired military consulted, and who asked to keep their names in reserve, said that Kaliman was faithful to the former President even after he submitted his resignation from office because he did not take the troops to the streets of his own free will: he did so forced by the General Staff, which threatened to arrest him if he continued to put the security of the population and the country at risk.
That moment was starred by Major General Grover Rojas Ugarte and the officers of the General Staff, who said that on the night of November 11th of that year they rebuked Kaliman so that he would take the military out to the streets. This was confirmed by Terceros in the statements he made before the Public Ministry in the case of terrorism, before being arrested.
“State how or from what specific fact are the Armed Forces taken to the streets to restore public order”, was the query that the prosecutors made to Terceros and he replied: “When General Grover Rojas enters with superior officers to rebuke Kaliman, is when the letter from the Police arrives, and since he already has a document, he orders for the Armed Forces to be taken out to the streets.”
Other testimonies indicate that on November 11th, the General Staff condemned the “submission and obedience” that not only Kaliman, but also Terceros, owed to Morales, Alvaro Garcia Linera, and Javier Zavaleta, despite the fact that they had already resigned the day before to the Presidency.
Retired General Tomas Peña y Lillo warned that “Kaliman’s affinity with the MAS was evident. So was Terceros’, who is being attacked so much now. It should not be forgotten that he acceded to the position despite the fact of being fifth of his class. Why? Well, he enjoyed the confidence of the MAS.”
Peña y Lillo stated that Kaliman and Terceros were the most related, but that in general, the High Command stood to attention on Morales without hesitation.
That November 11th, sources say, an uprising by the Army colonels was about to explode, who planned to arrest the generals to take command and take the troops to the streets. For this reason, the General Staff rebuked Kaliman “for blindly obeying Evo Morales. We told him about the dangers that loomed against the Armed Forces and, particularly, against the Bolivian population,” said one of the Division Generals at the time.
In fact, according to testimonies, Kaliman continued to receive calls from Morales. “He called him ‘brother, Evo’, ‘brother, President’. He was still getting orders on Monday. That bothered us a lot,” said another witness.
Kaliman escaped from the control of the prosecutors, the Police, and his whereabouts is unknown. Terceros is the bad guy in the movie.
However, in the statements before the Prosecutor’s Office, Terceros, Jorge Pastor Mendieta -former Army Commander-, and Flavio Gustavo Arce, then Chief of Staff, agreed that Kaliman decided to make a statement on November 10th in a press conference to suggest the resignation of President Morales without consulting anyone.
Terceros said in his statement that Kaliman already knew of that resignation and Peña y Lillo commented “that his attitude shows that being so close to Morales, that press conference, although framed in the norm, was an action that was absolutely coordinated with the former President.
Source: https://eldeber.com.bo/edicion-impresa/exjefes-militares-acusados-de-sedicion-eran-del-entorno-de-confianza-de-evo_239644
