The material found was presented. Photo: Ministry of Government
19 July 2021
IT IS CONSIDERED ARMS TRAFFICKING
The Government ratified this Monday that in 2019 riot gear arrived in the country irregularly from Argentina, for which it affirmed that the crime of illicit arms trafficking was committed, the penalty of which is 30 years without the right to pardon for the police and military personnel involved.
The Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo, particularly aimed -for the aforementioned criminal offense- at the former Police Commander, Yuri Calderon, the former Commander of the Bolivian Air Force, Jorge Terceros, in addition to the former Ambassador of Argentina in Bolivia, Normando Alvarez.
He pointed out that these three people committed illicit arms trafficking. He pointed out that, according to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the penalty for this crime is 15 years in prison, but with the aggravating circumstance of being military or police personnel, it rises to 30 years without the right to pardon.
Currently, former Ambassador Alvarez is the Minister of Labor in the Province of Jujuy. Meanwhile, former Commander Calderon is a fugitive from justice and former Commander Terceros is detained for the case called “coup”, in the framework of which he offered his version of the events of 2019 and the role of Evo Morales, which sparked criticism from of the MAS.
[Riot] Gear
According to Del Castillo, on 11 November 2019, the Argentine Ambassador to Bolivia sent a note to the Foreign Ministry requesting authorization for the entry of personnel, material, and equipment for the Special Forces Group called “Alacran” from that country.
Del Castillo reported that the Bolivian Police authorized the internment and temporary carrying in Bolivia of firearms, ammunition, and materials related to the group of special forces “Alacran” of Argentina, which was requested by the Embassy of that country through the Foreign Ministry in order to protect its facilities.
He also indicated that the aforementioned material was transferred by a Hercules C-130 aircraft from Argentina to Bolivia, arriving on November 13th in the city of La Paz.
“There are two types of materials that entered the country that November 13th. One in a legal manner that was authorized by the Institute of Technical Scientific Research (IICUP) with a prior note in the Foreign Ministry specifically to provide security to the Argentine Embassy and other unauthorized anti-riot weapons, because it does not have any type of formal registration or has followed the procedures established in Law 400,” denounced the Minister of Government.
The authority asserted that, irregularly, about 27 thousand cartridges of rubber pellets, 28 MK-4 aerosol gases, 19 MK-94 aerosol gases, 55 CN [gas] grenades, 53 H gas grenades, and 19 CS gas grenades have entered the country.
Source: https://erbol.com.bo/nacional/gobierno-apunta-30-a%C3%B1os-de-c%C3%A1rcel-para-personal-militar-y-policial-implicado-en-caso-del#:~:text=El%20Gobierno%20ratific%C3%B3%20este%20lunes,personal%20policial%20y%20militar%20implicado.
