The Bolivian justice system sentenced the former Minister of Environment and Water of the communist government Luis Arce, Juan Santos Cruz, to ten years in prison, after finding him guilty of integrating an illegal collection structure in exchange for state works awards.
The ruling was issued by an anti-corruption court in La Paz within the framework of the so-called “bribery case”, an investigation initiated in April 2023 based on complaints about alleged irregular payments required from companies interested in public contracts.
Former Minister of Environment and Water Juan Santos Cruz
According to the ruling, the former official received money in exchange for favoring hiring processes within the ministry, which made it possible to establish the existence of a corruption network in that state portfolio. The economic damage to the State was estimated at more than 19 million Bolivian pesos, equivalent to approximately 2.7 million dollars
.
Other former officials were also convicted in the same case. The former Deputy Minister of Drinking Water, Carmelo Valda Duarte, received a six-year prison sentence, as did three others involved in the structure under investigation
.
In addition to the custodial sentences, the court ordered the disqualification of those convicted from holding public office once the sentence was final, as well as the confiscation of illegally obtained property.
The former Deputy Minister of Drinking Water, Carmelo Valda Duarte, being arrested for corruption
The judicial process lasted almost three years, during which time Santos Cruz remained in preventive detention. The investigation was promoted by the State Attorney General's Office together with the Public Ministry and other entities responsible for institutional transparency
.
The case joins other corruption proceedings that have involved former authorities of the Government of the Movement for Socialism(MAS), in a context of increasing scrutiny over the management of public resources in Bolivia. Official reports indicated that the plot under investigation operated by demanding illegal payments in exchange for contracts, directly affecting the functioning of the
state administration.
The ruling reinforces justice in cases related to the misuse of public funds and establishes criminal liability in one of the most important cases of corruption linked to the administration of the communist Luis Arce.
