The cashier of the Viacha regiment detailed that between 2012 and 2013 he delivered the embezzled money to Juan José Zúñiga, current Army Chief of Staff.
A report addressed to the Army commander, Fernando Zeballos, in 2013, revealed that that year the head of the 23 Max Toledo Regiment in Viacha, Juan José Zúñiga, received 2,780,465 bolivianos illegally. According to the document, the money came from the systematic theft of funds destined to the payment of the Juancito Pinto and Renta Dignidad bonds.
Zúñiga, current Army Chief of Staff, was promoted to the rank of general on February 11 by President Luis Arce, in an act that, according to the military, "broke the military hierarchy in the Armed Forces (FFAA)". The uniformed questioned the promotion due to the fact that the officer does not meet the requirements and had a summary executed for the robbery in 2013.
In addition, the active duty military accused Zúñiga of leading a group of uniformed men called "Pachajchos", dedicated to smuggling.
Viacha
The report of the systematic theft was issued on November 28, 2013 by Warrant Officer Porfirio Quispe, designated as cashier in that military unit.
"During the 2012 and 2013 managements, by order of Lieutenant Colonel Juan José Zúñiga Macías, (...) I proceeded to deliver to that superior officer all the balances corresponding to food, payment Renta Dignidad, Juancito Pinto, fuel and others. I do not know the purpose for which they were destined", states the first point of the eight that appear in the document.
Next, the cashier detailed the amount of money given to Zúñiga, which should have been used to buy groceries, meat, vegetables and gas between January and October 2012. One column shows the "balance" of the bonus money, which added up to 344,942 bolivianos, including amounts for the months of May and June 2013.
Item 3 states that, according to superior orders, Zúñiga was to form groups of soldiers to go to the towns of Laja, Charaña, Santiago de Callapa and San Pedro de Curahuara, "at which points they were never paid, they were only paid in the city of Viacha (the discharges) to account for this effect, such as the certifications of the authorities, which were ordered to be made by order of the commander (Zúñiga)," the cashier detailed.
This item lists another eight amounts totaling 60,229 bolivianos, also given to Zúñiga.
Point 4 explains that the balances of the Juancito Pinto bonus were reversed, but not the money destined for "operating expenses", which remained in the officer's possession and totaled 69,344 bolivianos.
In the same paragraph, it is stated that up to that date, Zúñiga had in his hands 2,355,000 bolivianos, "as well as for the payment of per diem and operating expenses in the amount of Bs 58,294". In the fifth point, the cashier revealed that in addition to this money, Zúñiga also embezzled 70,950 Bolivianos that were destined to cover the "maneuvers (military demonstration) in Patacamaya".
On the last two points, the cashier claimed that he was the victim of threats and intimidation against his family members. He wrote that Zúñiga claimed that General Luis Begazo was following him because of suspicions that he was involved in drug trafficking and that he was suspended from his post without explanation.
Página Siete published on February 11 the result of the military summary executed in January 2014 against 13 military personnel involved in this robbery. The maximum sanction was seven days of arrest imposed against Zúñiga and the cashier.
To date, the Minister of Defense, Edmundo Novillo, has not commented on the allegations against Zúñiga, but high-ranking officials confirmed to this newspaper that the military's background was reported to President Luis Arce in September 2021.
I owe nothing
Counterpart Consulted on the summary against him, for the alleged embezzlement of the money from the Juancito Pinto and Renta Dignidad bonuses, General Juan José Zúñiga affirmed that it is all "a vile lie, a vile slander". He assured that in order to be promoted to each position, certifications must be presented and that he would have the documents that prove that he does not owe anything, "I have never owed a single cent", of the Juancito Pinto and Renta Dignidad bonuses.
Generals Zúñiga affirmed that 10 of the 12 generals who were promoted with him, resort to these "desperate" actions to replace him.
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