Bolivian Court Extends Detention Of Jeanine Anez

A Bolivian court on Saturday extended the pre-trial detention of former interim President Jeanine Anez and two former ministers from four to six months.

A court in La Paz cited the need for a long period to conduct an investigation and the possibility of escape of Anez, former Energy Minister Rodrigo Guzman and former Justice Minister Alvaro Coimbra, according to media reports.

Anez said on March 12 that prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for her and her Cabinet minister.

“The political persecution has begun,” wrote the conservative right-wing senator on Twitter. “The MAS has decided to return to the styles of the dictatorship. A shame because Bolivia does not need dictators, it needs freedom and solutions.”

She was referring to the ruling Movement for Socialism Party under the leadership of former President Evo Morales’ successor and current President Luis Arce.

The court filing shared by Anez also orders the arrest of five government ministers and four military chiefs. It charges Anez and others with “sedition, terrorism and conspiracy.”

Morales took political asylum in Mexico and then Argentina after he was forced to resign in 2019 flowing an election that showed him winning an unprecedented third term.

Anez then proclaimed herself interim president.

She was transferred Friday from a prison to a hospital because of poor health.