Senator Leonardo Loza announced that he will request permission to carry a firearm, fearing for his life after the death of leader Jhonny Cruz in the Tropic of Cochabamba. He stated that the Police no longer protect the cocalero leaders. Loza denounced that the officers intend to execute the evista leaders and expressed that his request is supported by law.
The legislator stated that he can be attacked anywhere in the country, denouncing that there is a persecution against those who report corruption and drug trafficking. He pointed out that there are no guarantees for his personal safety or that of his fellow cocaleros. Therefore, he considers it necessary to carry a defensive weapon because the Police have become a threat to the evistas.
The Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo, reported that three police officers were arrested for Cruz's death, all involved in the operation. The investigation revealed that the victim was shot in the back, and the officers' accounts present significant contradictions.
For Loza, it was neither an accident nor an excess, it was an execution ordered from the Government of Luis Arce itself. He directly accused Del Castillo and Deputy Minister Aguilera of being the intellectual authors. He stated that both tried to cover up the crime with contradictory versions, therefore he demanded prison for the three police officers and both authorities.
The senator from the evista wing also pointed to President Luis Arce and indicated that there is a state structure that persecutes, imprisons, and eliminates leaders loyal to the former dictator Evo Morales. He labeled the Government as murderous and corrupt and assured that the actions against the evistas are systematic. He insisted that the authorities do not act in isolation.
Loza called for the intervention of international organizations and requested that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigate the case of the leader involved with a criminal group from Chapare. In his view, the Government is trying to cover up the crime's authors and also requested guarantees for his physical integrity. He expressed distrust in the Bolivian judicial system.
On Thursday, the senator denounced a police search of his vehicle on the highway. He said that the officers searched his backpack and that of his companion, considering that operation an act of intimidation. He described the situation as a violation of the Constitution and shared a video on his social networks as evidence.
