Drug planes released by Davila were still flying with cocaine shipments

 Of the 66 sealed aircraft, there are planes that Dávila had released after cancelling a mega-operation in 2019. The same planes were also found with other shipments and there are also some with cloned and erased license plates. Several defendants were sent to Palmasola.

Investigations by the Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking and the Anti-Narcotics Prosecutor's Office reveal that of the 66 aircraft sealed in the operation this past Sunday at the La Cruceña airfield, in the Cotoca area, several of them turned out to be the same ones that on July 30, 2019 also fell on that runway in a mega-operation with arrests and a shootout. In that episode everything was annulled by order of the then national chief of the Felcn, Maximiliano Dávila Pérez, now imprisoned in the San Pedro prison in the city of La Paz.

After Sunday's operation, 38 people were arrested, 40 hangars were seized and 66 aircrafts were sealed, in addition to the seizure of firearms, ammunition, equipment, satellite phones, vehicles and others.

The Controlled Substances Prosecutor's Office, headed by prosecutors Freddy Guzmán and Carlos Candia, charged the 38 detainees with trafficking, conspiracy, criminal association and possession and carrying of firearms.

The Prosecutor's Office concludes by requesting imprisonment for all of them and specifies that some of the detainees have even been charged for oral trial for drug trafficking. In its main part, it specifies that three airplanes have a history of drug trafficking.

The released narco aircrafts

In a cautionary hearing, in the Felcn hall, in front of the 38 apprehended, the Prosecutor's Office informed Judge Estrella Montaño, the background of these aircrafts. The vessels in question are CP-2535, CP-2906 and CP-3084. The prosecutors assure that these ships were located in hangars 8 and 11, and that according to investigations by Felcn reports they were already found with drugs.

CP-2535 was caught with drugs on a runway in Montero, and also fell with cocaine during an operation in Santa Ana de Yacuma-Beni.

The same happens with CP-2906, which is registered in two cases of cocaine cargo transport in Santa Cruz. The vessel CP-3084 also appears to have been intercepted on two occasions loaded with cocaine in Santa Cruz.

The investigations point out that these ships, curiously register in the Felcn report of the case SC-X-611/19, which corresponds to July 30, 2019, diligence that was annulled, with the change of reports and statements by order of Maximiliano Dávila Pérez.

Cloned and erased license plates

The Prosecutor's Office argued before Judge Estrella Montaño that at the La Cruceña airfield, which should comply with the rules of lawful operations, flagrant crimes were being committed all the time.

Airplanes with cloned and erased license plates were detected and thus operated in drug trafficking activities.

In front of the judge, the prosecutors, with the help of reports made by Felcn agents, detailed that some of the detainees already had previous records, as they were arrested in previous mega-operations carried out at the airfield.

For example, Glober Soleto Guzmán and Luis Mauricio Lora Aguilera, the first one accused for oral trial for the crime of trafficking, was on Sunday at the airfield where he was arrested. Luis Mauricio Lora Aguilera, is listed as detained in another operation at the aerodrome on November 21, 2019.

According to the Prosecutor's Office and the Felcn, most of the 38 arrested this Sunday at the aerodrome, also fell in the mega-operations of July 30, 2019 and November 21, 2019.

Almost 5,000 liters of gasoline

During Sunday's action Felcn and the Prosecutor's Office seized 4,870 liters of aviation gasoline in drums. According to the prosecutor's analysis, the fuel was manipulated to supply planes for flights to clandestine airstrips transporting quantities of drugs, as well as precursors, food, and implements for crystallization laboratories.

Early this morning during the hearing, Judge Estrella Montaño ordered the detention in Palmasola of several of the 38 people, among them Glober Soleto Guzmán and Luis Mauricio Lora Aguilera, the first one already accused for oral trial for trafficking, but who was at liberty. All of them remained silent before the Prosecutor's Office and the judge. For the Prosecutor's Office, the evidence presented was overwhelming. 

Silala: after Evo's unfulfilled threat, Chile advances its lawsuit

 Six years after Chile initiated the lawsuit against Bolivia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which seeks to ratify the international character of the waters of the Silala, this Friday the oral arguments between the two countries begin in The Hague. These will determine whether or not Bolivia has full sovereignty over the flow of the waters initiated in the country.

With an approximate length of 56 kilometers and an altitude of 4551 meters above sea level, the waters of the Silala are located in the Andean altiplano area, between the department of Potosí in Bolivia and the Antofagasta region of Chile.

According to an investigation carried out by the civil engineer and environmentalist Antonio Bazoberry and called "The Silala Myth", in 1904 the prefecture of Potosí granted a concession so that the Antogasta Bolivia Railway (FCAB) could build artificial channels and take advantage of the waters for its operation.

In this regard, Professor of International Law Sergio Castro explained that the prefecture of Potosí, through a supreme decree, annulled the concession in the 90's and Bolivia warned of cutting off the waters of the Silala. Chile responded with a possible military intervention.

During 2002, the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly denied the existence of bilateral negotiations related to the waters of the Silala. Bolivia stated that the waters did not flow naturally to Chile and belonged exclusively to it. Through a communiqué, it announced the interruption of the flow of the waters to Chile or the initiation of an international lawsuit before the ICJ.

From 2006 to 2010, the governments of Evo Morales and Michelle Bachelet worked on a 13-point bilateral agenda, which included an agreement for the use of the waters of the Silala. This was made available to Potosí through a referendum, which attempted to add the payment of a historical Chilean debt for the use of the Silala without prior authorization. The decision was rejected by the neighboring country.

"The Chileans not only make an abusive and arbitrary use of our Silala waters, but they also do some more actions, they are drilling wells at 300, 400 meters so that their mining companies can take advantage of these subway waters", denounced in 2016 the former foreign minister and current vice president of Bolivia David Choquehuanca, who was part of the national delegation in the work of the bilateral agenda.

In March 2016, former President Evo Morales, in his protocol speech for the Day of the Sea, advanced that the country would go to the ICJ to denounce that Chile was "stealing waters from the department of Potosí".

"We have decided, as a pacifist country, that we are going to go to The Hague so that Chile respects our waters of the Silala in the department of Potosí. We are with legality, we are with international law, however, yesterday Chile through an authority answers us, tells us that no, that it is an international river", indicated at that time Morales.

Alerted by the statements, in June 2016, Chile files a lawsuit against Bolivia in The Hague. Subsequently, in August 2018, Bolivia responded with a counterclaim and counter-memorial before the ICJ.

Chile alleges that the Silala is an international river and Bolivia that it is a spring originating in its territory. Oral arguments will be held from April 1 to 14, 2022.

 Chile knew how to take more advantage of the Silala than Bolivia did.

The professor of International Law, Sergio Castro, indicated that the waters of the Silala are mainly used by companies in the north of Chile, in the region of Antofagasta, bordering the Bolivian border.

"It is not only used by companies, but also for the consumption of people and for agriculture in certain areas. The Silala is a development pole for Chile," he assured.

In 2016, the then Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heraldo Muñoz, reported that the waters of the Silala were used by two companies: Ferrocarril Antofagasta Bolivia, belonging to the Luksic group, and by Codelco Chuquicamata division.

The former captures a total of 120 liters of water per second, while the latter captures 150 liters of water per second.

On the other hand, Bolivia in 2012 tried to implement a fishing zone, a dam and a mineral water bottling plant.

For Castro, it is very difficult for the country to take full advantage of the spring waters, due to its geographical position. He explained that the waters are located under two hills, approximately 700 meters above sea level, and a mechanism would have to be created to eliminate the distance.

Another option is to create tunnels to give passage from the Silala to Potosí. "Technically it is possible, but it would be a large investment", he assured.

Chile sues Bolivia before the ICJ in The Hague.

Chilean agent Ximena Fuentes filed the application for registration of the lawsuit against Bolivia in The Hague on June 6, 2016, stating that the Silala was an international river and Chile could also take advantage of its waters.

Bolivia responds with a counterclaim

Former President Evo Morales reported on August 31, 2018 that Bolivia had filed a counterclaim and counter-memorial before the International Court of Justice for the lawsuit initiated by Chile two years ago.

"Studies carried out confirm that a considerable flow flows artificially towards Chile due to works carried out in the last century," the former president assured on his Twitter account.

Start of oral arguments between Bolivia and Chile

After two years of the suspension of oral arguments due to the pandemic, the International Court of Justice announced, on March 9, the schedule of oral arguments between Bolivia and Chile in the Silala case.

 They will begin on Friday, April 1 and will conclude on April 14.

Chile requests that the Silala be declared an international river and that it has equitable use of the waters. Bolivia indicates that it is a spring that arose in the country.  

Silala: Bolivia admitted that waters also have international course

  A communiqué of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of February 2020 informed that Bolivia admitted, in the counter-memorial presented before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), that part of the waters of the Silala flow naturally towards Chile. With this criterion, the former Bolivian agent before the court in The Hague Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé and the current Chilean agent Ximena Fuentes agree separately.

In an interview to Los Tiempos, Rodríguez Veltzé affirmed that the scientific results on the disputed waters were characterizing the Silala "as an international watercourse". Meanwhile, Fuentes declared last week to CNN that the country changed its position during the development of the process and ended up accepting that the Silala is a river of international course.

The statement of the Foreign Ministry, then in charge of Karen Longaric, clarifies that the litigation before the ICJ began during the government of Evo Morales and in their "procedural acts" (counter-memorial) they admit that part of the waters of the Silala flows naturally to Chile.

The pleadings in the Silala dispute between Chile and Bolivia begin this April 1 at the Peace Palace in The Hague and will continue for the next 14 days.

According to Rodríguez Veltzé, "as reported to the Chancellery and the relevant authorities, the results of the scientific work and its contrast were revealing a high percentage of coincidences on the characterization of the Silala as an international watercourse according to the definition and characteristics of the repeated UN Convention. These findings and other aspects, such as the treatment of the works as canals that artificially alter the flow towards Chile, marked the terms of the answer, the counterclaim and its consideration for the judicial or extrajudicial understandings that attend the controversy".

For Fuentes, Bolivia recognizes that Chile is somewhat right when it replies (in the counter-memorial) and in reality what it wants to say is that "I recognize that it is an international river that, effectively, due to the slope of the terrain, these waters, which, effectively, are born from springs and then form a river that naturally crosses the border and enters Chilean territory. Up to that point one could have said that the Silala case is over, because the Chilean position was accepted by the counterpart", detailed Fuentes.

Spring or river?

Chile filed on June 6, 2016, under the second government of Michelle Bachelet, a lawsuit against Bolivia before the ICJ for it to declare that the Silala is an international watercourse and that Chile, as a riparian, has the right to the use of its waters.

 However, Bolivia's initial position was that the waters of the Silala are natural springs that were artificially diverted by Chile.

Andrónico will not travel to The Hague

The president of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, informed that he will not travel to The Hague to attend the hearings at the International Court of Justice on the Silala. He assured that Bolivia maintains its position that the disputed waters are not an international river as stated by Chile.

"We have mentioned and we assure that it is not an international river, but that its waters come from springs located in Potosí (...), which flow down to the towns of northern Chile, through artificial canalizations", said Rodríguez.

The legislator insisted on the issue: "We are sure that the origin of the waters is a spring, it is not an international river".

MAS deputies used textual information from Wikipedia for "defenders of democracy" bill

The project is in the Constitution Commission. The drafters are Congressmen María Alanoca and Zacarías Laura.

The bill proposed by two deputies of Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) that declares the inhabitants of Senkata, Sacaba, Montero, Betanzos, Ovejuyo and Pedregal as defenders of democracy, due to the conflicts of 2019, in the justifications part contains excerpts from Wikipedia and the text of an opinion article from Le Monde.

The copy of the quotations is inserted in the part of background and justification, and several spelling errors are evident. In the section entitled: "Sacaba mourned its dead for the massacres of the Government of Facto and in Defense of Democracy", the first two paragraphs are faithful copies from Wikipedia.

"On November 15, a strong contingent of coca growers' groups sympathetic to MAS tried to enter the city of Cochabamba. During the confrontations with the police, the security forces of that country seize a large amount of money, firearms and explosives from these protesters, supporters of the Movimiento al Socialismo (sic)," details the text of the MAS bill, according to ANF report.

The bill is before the Constitution, Legislation and Electoral System Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. The drafters are MAS deputies María Alanoca and Zacarías Laura.

The following reads: "After several confrontations with the police, six deaths and 115 wounded were reported. On the 16th of that same month, the Minister of Government, Arturo Murillo, stated that most of the deaths came from the demonstrators themselves. Proof of this is that the Bolivian Institute of Forensic Investigations (IDIF) confirmed that the eight protesters were killed by 22 and 9 mm caliber firearms and some were shot in the back while confronting the authorities. None of these calibers corresponded to the regulation weapons of either the military or the police, casting doubt on the qualification of these as 'massacres'," reads the text of the law profile.

Both paragraphs are excerpts from Wikipedia that are published in the article Massacres of Sacaba and Senkata. The free encyclopedia recalls the events that took place in November 2019, when Evo Morales resigned from the presidency and then Jeanine Añez took over.

Another paragraph of the MAS bill says: "While new elections could have allowed the country to decide if, and how, it wanted to turn the page regarding the Morales era, Bolivia is right now governed by Añez, an ultra-fundamentalist senator close to Camacho, who has proclaimed herself president. She has surrounded herself with soldiers, leaders linked to racist organizations and employers' representatives. None of them has been elected to the office they hold. This is called a coup d'état. 

This text is an excerpt from an opinion article by Ranaurd Lambert, December 2019, published in Le Monde, entitled A coup d'état too easy in Bolivia.

The proposed rule of the pro-government legislators provides in its sole article: "The city of El Alto, Senkata, Sacaba, Montero, Betanzos, Ovejuyo and El Pedregal are declared Defenders of Democracy of the year 2019, which sought to be snatched by extreme right-wing groups".

This legal body profile pretends to be based on four international reports, but does not mention the Interdisciplinary Group of International Experts (GIEI), which concluded that there were indeed massacres and extrajudicial executions. 

Daddy Yankee includes Bolivia in his farewell tour

 The Puerto Rican artist will perform in Santa Cruz de la Sierra on September 23. 

Daddy Yankee, one of the biggest names in the reggaeton industry, announced last week that his album "Legendaddy" would be his last and that he would say goodbye to a musical career of more than two decades with a concert tour called "La última vuelta". In the last hours, the Puerto Rican singer gave more details about this project and revealed that Bolivia is part of his last goodbye. 

"Last Friday we went out with the pre-sale of La última vuelta and it sold out in less than two hours. Tomorrow it goes on pre-sale in more cities and we repeat Miami", informed the rapper in his social networks.

Along with the message he shared an image informing about the next destinations, where he will visit Santa Cruz de la Sierra on September 23rd. 

According to his itinerary, Santa Cruz would be the first destination of the artist in South America, after his visit to the United States and before singing in places like Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires and Bogota. 

No further details are yet known about the location of the concert or ticket prices. 

"This race, which has been a marathon, I can finally see the finish line. Now I'm going to enjoy with all of you what you have given me, what you have given me," said Raymond Ayala, the Puerto Rican singer's first name, in the video in which he announced his farewell.

"I retire with the greatest gratitude, my audience, my colleagues, all producers, radio, press, television, digital platforms and you, who have been with me from the 'underground', from the root, from the beginning of reggaeton," he said. 

Daddy Yankee started his musical career in the album "Playero 34", by music producer DJ Playero, where the word reguetón or reggaeton was heard for the first time. With his vision of taking the genre to another level, he continued to participate in other productions and joined in a duet with Nicky Jam, releasing his album, "Haciendo escante".

However, the duo broke up, giving Daddy Yankee the opportunity to release in 2004 the album "Barrio Fino", which included "Gasolina", a song that exploded the career of the legendary reguetonero. Daddy Yankee went on to release several albums, including "El Cartel: The Big Boss", "Mundial" and "Prestige".

The artist is no stranger to Bolivian audiences, having come on at least two occasions, in 2009 and 2018.  

Jeanine Añez's oral trial suspended until April 4

 The Court declared William Kaliman, Jorge Fernández, Sergio Orellana and Yuri Calderón in default. There were protests and decompensation of the former president.

This Monday, the oral trial against former interim president Jeanine Añez, for the so-called "coup d'état II" case, was scheduled to begin. However, in the midst of interruptions, technical problems and the decompensation of the former head of state, the suspension was determined until April 4.

"It has been a hearing that has skipped all kinds of procedures, there were many violations to my mother's rights. She was in very bad health, she has a very strong nervous crisis, however, they were installing the hearing in spite of everything", expressed Carolina Ribera, Añez's daughter.

"It was not that they suspended it because of my mother's health. They committed a series of irregularities and the court has decided to suspend the hearing for next week, April 4", she added. 

In the images of the virtual hearing, it could be seen how Añez was in discomfort and was being attended to by the health personnel of the Miraflores prison. While the doctors were doing their job, defense attorney Norka Cuéllar asked - unsuccessfully - for the judge to speak. In the end, Añez was taken out of the courtroom from where she witnessed the trial. 

"For an hour, former president Jeanine Añez was present virtually from the prison, listening to the Attorney General's Office instructing the Court how to conduct the illegal process. She had a crisis, verified by medical personnel in situ... The Court pretends trial without her!", wrote Añez's entourage in her official account.

"The defense of Jeanine Añez denounces a serious health crisis of the former president, who is being attended by medical personnel at the Miraflores prison. Outside the prison, groups armed with firecrackers and defamatory slogans are coercing and violating her", says the publication.

Defense attorney Luis Guillén affirmed that the court did not "adequately" comply with some procedures regarding the declaration of default of General Williams Kaliman and other three co-defendants, and that was the reason for the suspension.

The court declared four defendants in absentia: former commander Kaliman, former commander Jorge Fernández, former head of the Armed Forces Sergio Orellana and former police commander Yuri Calderón. 

The Ministry of Justice and Transparency issued a statement in which they assured that the government authorities "are respectful of due process". They also accused Añez's defense of obstructing the case and warned that the interruption of a trial for "unjustified" reasons constitutes the crime of delaying justice. 

"The problems caused to interfere in the virtual hearing and the excessive use of procedural resources by the defendant and his lawyers, reflect an obstructive attitude and contrary to the constitutional right to have judicial decisions in a reasonable time and without delays," the brief states. 

"Despite this attitude of the defense, which seeks to block the administration of justice, the court in this case issued a resolution declaring Williams Kaliman, Vladimir Yuri Calderón, Elmer Flores Toranzo and Carlos Orellana in absentia, who will be represented by lawyers from the Plurinational Public Defense Service (Sepdep). The jurisdictional authority also decided the temporary suspension of the hearing until April 4 of this year at 9:00 a.m.".  

Chaotic hearing

In a context of health emergency, justice workers announced days ago that the trial would be held virtually. This allowed for different scenarios in which there were numerous cameras turned off in cases such as the Ministry of Government and the Penitentiary Center, and people against the light, which prevented their recognition.

At the same time, there were signs of protest, one of the most evident being that of Norka Cuellar, who at first did not show herself in front of the camera, but left the image of a T-shirt with Añez's face and the phrase "Freedom for political prisoners". Another attendee, who could not be identified, digitally altered her image to show the face of the former president. 

Difficulties with the audio were also a drawback. In addition to the repeated overlapping statements by more than one person, the judge in charge of the case had difficulties with the microphone, something that was repeatedly denounced by those present in the virtual courtroom.  

After less than an hour, the Página Siete journalists were removed from the session. Some time later, the same thing happened with people like Carolina Ribera, who denounced the fact in her social networks.

"They gave start to the most shameful, nefarious and illegal trial in the history of Bolivia. A trial without a crime, in a court without jurisdiction, with judges appointed by hand. Worst of all, with a sentence already issued by the political power, which only wants to take revenge and cover up the fraud for which one day they will have to account to the country," he published. 

"The Attorney General's Office intends to dictate orders to the Court, giving instructions on what to do, to remove my mother's witnesses and cut off the use of the word in an illegal and unjust oral trial. They took me out of the virtual hearing that should be PUBLIC!!!", he added. 

In this case, Añez and members of law enforcement are accused of the crimes of breach of duty and resolutions contrary to the Constitution and the laws. Both offenses carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. The Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, in past months, estimated that the justice system will determine 12 years in prison for the defendants.

The lawyer Alaín de Canedo explained that the trial will be virtual, but that they will request that it be in person due to the magnitude of the process. He detailed that there will be a stage of exceptions and incidents; then there will be the accusation, the statement of the defendants, the presentation of evidence and witnesses and, finally, the sentence will be issued. 

Audit reveals that 'Quotas in installments' caused damage of $US 14.5 million to the cooperative

 The review found former executives of the telephone company responsible for the millionaire swindle. The cooperative indicates that they are still presenting their resignations and that the report is not the final one. Afcoop reminds to show the figures to members.

The figures are cold, hard, clear and above all revealing. Documentation to which EL DEBER had access reveals that the swindle in Cooperativa de Telecomunicaciones Santa Cruz R.L. (Cotas) occurred in 2019 - within the membership loyalty program 'Cotas en Cuotas' - reaches $us 14.5 million. It even determines that there is criminal liability of former senior executives of the institution.

The information in the first paragraph is based on data from an external audit conducted by a company hired by the cooperative. EL DEBER accessed the expertise that reviewed the commercial agreements for the supply of electronic equipment, signed in the 2017 and 2018 managements with the suppliers of 'Cotas en Cuotas'.

"The integrity of the operations related to Cotas R.L. equipment orders to suppliers, deliveries made with suppliers to members, users and/or beneficiaries of Cotas, supplier payments, equipment balances in the cooperative's warehouses, reconciliations and other documents related to the program were analyzed," states part of the auditing firm's report to Cotas.

The document is 45 pages long and was sent on March 12, 2020 to Cotas' directors by the company Asimco S.R.L. It is not known if that is the total losses, given that the operator hired another company to audit the development of the program between the years 2010 and 2016.

Background

In 2019, Cotas denounced that through this program, which sought to build loyalty among its members by making it easier for them to purchase electronic equipment on credit, a group of officials made fictitious requests, and then diverted and sold the devices on the black market, without them reaching the cooperative's members.

The program sought to generate profits from the sale of the equipment on credit by charging the cost to the members' invoices.

When the case came to light, a preliminary damage of US$ 7.7 million was calculated. The Public Prosecutor's Office then opened an ex officio proceeding, which was later joined by the cooperative. More than a dozen people were charged, including Cotas executives and private individuals. A date for the oral trial is awaited.

Results of the audit

The audit reviewed the contracts signed with eight suppliers, in three of them no irregularities were found, and the amounts and quantity of equipment were less than Bs 60,000. But it did detect economic damage in the operations with the other five. 

The companies observed are Antelo Service Import Export, Boto SRL, Electrónica de Consumo Sure LTDA, Media Market SRL and Daher Importaciones, Exportaciones y Representaciones, with the latter Cotas had a process that culminated in a conciliation, which was even observed by the audit, for favoring former executives involved in the damage to the telephone company.

Between 2017 and 2018 the equipment suppliers delivered devices for a value of Bs 120.5 million ($US 17.31 million). The amount corresponds to fictitious and real requests.

Of that total, only Bs 13.7 ($us 2 million) went to cooperative members. While Bs 106.7 million (US$ 15.3 million) were diverted. The Attorney General's Office described this as a criminal association within the operator, made up of middle and senior executives.

The highest amounts were recorded in two contracts. The first one with Media Market to which Cotas delivered Bs 41.7 million (US$ 5.9 million). The company even demanded an additional Bs 1.5 million (US$ 215,517) from the cooperative.

The second was with Daher. Cotas paid Bs 29.3 million (US$ 4.2 million) to this supplier, but the company demanded an additional payment of Bs 22.03 million (US$ 3.1 million). The balance was reconciled, establishing that Cotas should pay Bs 18 million (US$ 2.6 million).

The report details that Antelo Service Import Export delivered products worth Bs 11.1 million - equivalent to US$ 1.5 million - but only Bs 2.4 million reached the partners. The rest was diverted. This supplier was paid Bs 7.9 million.

While in the contract with Boto SRL it was detected that items for Bs 4.4 million (US$ 632,183) were shipped, only Bs 1.04 million reached the users. In the operation, Cotas disbursed Bs 2.9 million (US$ 416,666).

The same anomalies were discovered with the operations with Electrónica de Consumo Sure Ltda., which delivered merchandise in the amount of Bs 9.1 million. Only Bs 446,316 reached the members, but the telecommunications cooperative paid Bs 6.5 to the firm. 

The auditing company claims that the officials responsible for the program changed the way the equipment was delivered.

For example, a device could only be delivered through a request made by the member, user or beneficiary. The procedure was simple: the interested person went to the cooperative, asked for a voucher, chose the equipment of his preference and handed in his personal documents.

This system was changed by allowing the Marketing Director to make requests by e-mail, including in one order many devices.

The expert report notes that in order to approve the payment of the diverted units, an accounting adjustment was made, even though the data did not coincide with the reports on the characteristics of the devices, but with the value of the devices. The anomaly was not observed by any company filter.

In addition, there were disbursement authorization levels. For example, transactions up to US$ 5,000 were approved by the Economy and Finance Manager, the Management Director, the Accounting Director or the Treasury Deputy Director.

When they reached $US 10,000, they were authorized by the general manager, the manager of Economy and Finance, the manager of Administration or Human Resources, or the manager of Technological Innovation, with two joint or indistinct signatures.

And if they exceeded $US 10,000, the ones who ordered to pay were the president of Cotas (at that time Iván Uribe), the treasurer of the Board of Directors (at that time José Daniel Hurtado, current president of Cotas) and the General Manager, a position held by Saúl Antelo Torrico.

"The irregular actions of the officers and former officers of Cotas RL who participated in the operations and of the president and treasurer of the Board of Directors, as well as the general manager, who signed checks giving course to the irregular payments, were also responsible for the economic damage of Bs 101.3 million, equivalent to US$ 14.5 million," says the auditing firm. 

Responsibilities

The technical expertise concludes that there are criminal liabilities of 11 former officers and senior executives of Cotas. This list even includes the current president of the Board of Directors, who was previously treasurer of the cooperative, José Daniel Hurtado.

Also on the list is Hubert Gil, former Marketing Director, Javier Vaca Díez, former Marketing Manager, Saúl Antelo, former General Manager, and the former President of the institution, Iván Uribe, among others.

According to the audit, "they carried out adulterated reconciliations and manipulated the company's computer systems to make the payment, cunningly accounting to hide accounting figures and signing the checks that gave rise to the irregular payment".

Cotas affirms that these people have not yet been released.

The importers are not left out. The five supplier companies "acted outside of what was established in the contracts signed with Cotas" within the program, contributing "to the economic damage exposed in the audit report".

The cooperative did not deny the content of the expertise and said that the reports of both audits (including the one from 2010-2016) were submitted to the Internal Audit Management of Cotas, which validated the information and then forwarded it to the Regulatory Authority in Cooperatives (Afcoop) for review and joint signing of the act of conformity, as provided for in the technical specifications of the regulatory body.

By the end of 2020, Afcoop was expected to return the reports and working papers. However, this did not happen due to another change of government at the national level, which implied the replacement of officials of the regulatory body", they indicated.

In a statement they add that on March 3 the reports, including the working papers, were sent to Cotas. "As appropriate, the Board of Directors has referred all this documentation to the Supervisory Board so that the work corresponding to the final stage of the process can be coordinated," they say.

Cotas adds that the corresponding disclosures must be made and, based on this, the independent auditing firms will formulate their final conclusions. And once this process has been completed, the partners will be informed. Regarding the criminal proceeding, they said that it is still ongoing and that a trial date is expected.

However, a letter sent by Afcoop to Cotas on February 22 of this year states that it has already returned the documentation. In addition, the letter also ordered the cooperative to disclose the results of the audit to its members, as required by law.

Arce up to his sleeves: the Government allocated Bs 5 MM to billboard advertising

 In the Movement Towards Socialism they justify "the investment", since they argue that, in view of the lack of information and disinformation, the population believed that the Executive was not doing anything.

Between November and December 2021, the Government allocated more than five million Bolivianos for the diffusion of advertising on billboards in several points of the country and on the sleeves of at least two airports, in which the image of President Luis Arce appears and points of his administration are highlighted.

In this regard, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) justifies "the investment", since they argue that the population believed that the Executive did nothing.

Página Siete had access to four contracts on the so-called Service for the diffusion of road advertising on billboards and two service orders for the diffusion of advertising on access sleeves. In the case of road billboards, the Government allocated 5.6 million Bolivianos; in the case of advertising for airport sleeves, it allocated 89,900 Bolivianos.

Street billboards

On November 22, 2021, the Ministry of the Presidency signed an administrative contract with the company Visioncreativa & Publicidad, for the "Road advertising broadcasting service on billboards", for 2,482,647 bolivianos.  

This was a direct contracting. The document specifies that the locations of the billboards are the following: 17 in Cochabamba, eight in La Paz, three in El Alto and 20 in Santa Cruz.

The Ministry of the Presidency, on November 22, 2021, signed another contract with the firm Overdigitalprint, for the broadcasting service of road advertising on billboards, for an amount of 641,920 bolivianos. 

This was also a direct contracting, with the following specifications of the location of the billboards: two in Beni, two in Cobija (Pando), three in Cochabamba, two in La Paz, four in Oruro, four in Potosí, three in Santa Cruz, four in Sucre and two locations in Tarija.

On December 6, 2021, the Ministry of the Presidency signed a contract with the company Vista Urbana, for the broadcasting service of road advertising on billboards, for an amount of 1,600,540 bolivianos.

Like the two previous contracts, this was a direct contracting.  The document specifies the addresses of the billboards: Cochabamba, in 18 locations; La Paz, in 27 locations; El Alto, in eight locations; in Potosí, in 11 locations; in Sucre, in 10 locations; in Tarija, in 14 locations; and in Cobija, in two locations.

On December 7, 2021, the Ministry of the Presidency signed another contract with Grupo Rivman Publicidad Corporativa for the billboard advertising broadcasting service, for 908,246 Bolivianos.  

This was a direct contracting, with the following specifications for the location of the billboards: 26 in Santa Cruz, three in Plan 3,000 (Santa Cruz), three in Sacaba (Cochabamba) and nine locations in Tarija and Villamontes. 

In the four cases, the respective Contract Closing Reports -all dated February 11- concluded that the companies complied with the terms, and therefore the "Final Conformity" was issued. 

Sleeves at airports

The service order OS/CM No. 768/2021, dated December 20, 2021, reports that the company Smarthprinter agreed to provide the "Advertising diffusion service in access handles" at the El Alto Airport, for 49,900 bolivianos. 

The Service Conformity Report states that on December 20, 2021, the supplier delivered the installation of the advertising material in the airport's access handles (Cabin 1, Cabin 2 and Cabin 3).

On the other hand, the service order OS/CM N°767/2021, also dated December 20, states that Smarthprinter agreed to provide the "Service of diffusion of management achievements - Viru Viru Santa Cruz International Airport", whose cost amounted to 40,000 bolivianos. 

According to the Service Conformity Report, on December 21, the supplier delivered the installation of the advertising material in cabin 4 and cabin 5 of the airport.

In contact with this media, Daniel Rojas, MAS deputy, justified "the investment" of the Government in this type of advertising. The legislator indicated that "in previous years" it was seen that in the absence of information and in the face of misinformation, the population believed that the Executive was not doing anything.

"Through the investment by the different mass media they will somehow be able to reach every corner of Bolivia and make known everything that is being done, all the works, projects and all the work that our government has been doing. It is not an investment in vain", he said.

Congressman Pablo Arizaga, from Comunidad Ciudadana (CC), commented that for the MAS government, propaganda was always more important. 

"It is not strange, this has been going on for many years, but it is really incongruent: public propaganda is more important than health and education for MAS," he said.

Political scientist José Orlando Peralta stated that Arce is assuming his role as President and at the same time seeks protagonism, with a propaganda style focused on a more technical look.  "Arce is assuming his condition of President and is also seeking protagonism through propaganda in his own way, with his own style, with a more technical perspective, because he always highlights the economic", he said.

And in this, the political analyst continued, he differs from former President Evo Morales, maximum leader of MAS. But the contrast is also in the discourse, because Arce does not seek confrontation within the party, but calls for unity. These indications, according to Peralta, lead to think that Arce would be inclined to run for reelection. 

Sixth day of blockade in Guarayos: Desperation among transporters who run out of food and water

Intercultural farmers no longer allow any vehicles to pass. There is desperation among the drivers who are carrying animals without food and water. The line is estimated to be 5 kilometers long. The government has not yet arrived at the site.

Drama in the Santa Cruz province of Guarayos. Without a break for the passage of vehicles, a long line of heavy transport trucks, approximately 5 kilometers long, was left halfway. Stranded, with cargo and animals, without water and food. 

Traffic on the highway that connects Santa Cruz with Trinidad has been closed for six days by a large group of intercultural peasants, settled in two communities - San Antonio del Junte and Cerro Grande - whose main demand is to seek justice for the death of young Franklin Delgadillo and a solution to the land conflict.

Óscar Llave, one of the many truck drivers stranded since Thursday night, told EL DEBER Radio about the hours of anguish and desperation they have had to live in the middle of the highway. 

"We are tired of waiting in these conditions. This situation is going to get out of control, there could be confrontations," he said in a brief interview. 

The line is so long, he continued, that from where he is he cannot see the area where the group of peasants is in the Cerro Grande community. 

Like the rest of those affected, he is asking the Government to take action, to solve the conflict and for the intervention of the Police.

Llave also indicated that since it is harvest time, there are shipments of rice and corn that must reach their destination to be distributed.

ABC registers seven blockades in Bolivia's main highways

 The Bolivian Highway Administration (ABC) reported up to 09.23 a.m. this Friday seven blockades due to social conflicts, four in La Paz, one in Beni and two in Santa Cruz.

In La Paz, the blockades are located on the Tambillo-Tihuanacu, Tihuanacu-Guaqui, Guaqui-Desaguadero and Nazacara-San Andrés de Machaca roads. 

The first three are obstructing transportation to Peru and are related to the communities' demand for the construction of the Río Seco-Desaguadero dual carriageway. The police announced hours ago that they are waiting for the order to intervene on these routes.

The blockade in Beni is on the Cerro Chico-Beni road, at the height of the San Pablo bridge. It is located close to one in Santa Cruz (Ascensión de Guarayos-Cerro Grande). Both are related to the conflict over the seizure of lands confiscated from U.S. businessman Jacob Ostreicher, a conflict that caused the death of one person last Saturday. The protesters are demanding that the authorities find those responsible for the death.

Another blockade in Santa Cruz is on the Buena Vista-Yapacaní highway and was set up to demand the school basket.

The ABC advised drivers to drive very cautiously, due to the rains on the roads.

In the sector of Puente Chaco-Puente Villa (La Paz), for example, the river overflowed, dragging material on the platform.

"In case of persistent rainfall or snowfall, stop and look for a widening until visibility conditions improve," he recommended. 

Award with her book of short stories 'You shine in the dark'.

 The prize is endowed with 25,000 euros (about 27,000 dollars). The jury's decision highlighted the great originality and expressive power of her work. This is the third book of short stories by the author from Santa Cruz.

Liliana Colanzi, with her book "Ustedes brillan en lo oscuro", has won the VII Ribera del Duero Prize for short stories, endowed with 25,000 euros (about 27,000 dollars), according to the jury's decision, which highlighted the great originality and expressive power of her work.

A jury chaired by Rosa Montero and also composed of Cristian Crusat and Marta Sanz, accompanied by Enrique Pascual, president of the Ribera del Duero D.O., and Juan Casamayor, editor of Páginas de Espuma, announced Wednesday the winning work among the 946 authors from 37 countries who submitted their books of short stories to this edition.

Colanzi beat four finalists: 'Una grieta en la noche', by Laura Baeza; 'Pombero', by Marina Closs; 'Un meteorito flamígero', by Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, and 'Todo lo que aprendimos de las películas', by María José Navia.

Colanzi's book will go on sale in paper simultaneously in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Spain, Mexico and Uruguay on May 11 in print and in ebook and audiobook worldwide.

Arce appeals to Allende and expects Boric to put an end to the cloistering of the country

The head of state vindicated the judgment of The Hague and said that without a solution to the sea issue there will be no reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Chile.

In his speech for the Day of the Sea, President Luis Arce quoted Salvador Allende, former socialist president of Chile, and said he hopes that his leftist counterpart Gabriel Boric, who presides over a progressive government, will put an end to the national isolation.

The president, in a ceremony held in the Abaroa square, also vindicated the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and expressed that it opens a new scenario in the bilateral dialogue.

"We call on the government of the sister republic of Chile to make their own the words of Salvador Allende and that remain alive in the hearts of many Chilean brothers and sisters: 'Chile has a century-old debt with Bolivia and we are willing to undertake a historic solution. Bolivia will return sovereign to the Pacific coast'", he said.

The president quoted Allende's words to writer Néstor Taboada Terán days after taking office in La Moneda. Allende was a leftist leader whose government was overthrown by a coup led by Augusto Pinochet. 

"We are sure," Arce added, "that sooner rather than later the injustice of our enclosure will be rectified and we will reconstitute our ancestral and sovereign relationship with the seas, a right with which we were born as Bolivia and which we will never renounce.

The act began when Arce arrived in the vicinity of the Abaroa square, which he entered flanked by Vice President David Choquehuanca; the president of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Freddy Mamani.

During his speech, the head of state stressed that recently took office in Chile as president Boric, who leads a progressive government, which adds to the constituent that develops in that country to change its constitutional text. 

"A progressive government has recently assumed the leadership of our sister republic of Chile and the Chilean people are moving forward in a historic constituent assembly, so we hope that under the leadership of brother President Gabriel Boric, the Bolivian people will put an end to the imprisonment, an open wound in our great homeland for 143 years," said Arce.

Both presidents met in Chile last March 11, the same day Boric took office. After the meeting, Arce indicated that he presented his counterpart with an agenda that included the sea issue and the use of international waters.

 However, on March 14, Boric maintained that his country's sovereignty is not negotiable, but offered to resume bilateral relations.  "Chile, of course, does not negotiate its sovereignty, as I imagine no country does," he assured then.

Yesterday, Arce maintained that the reestablishment of diplomatic relations "can only take place within the framework of the solution to the pending maritime issue", and added that Chile is aware that the Bolivian encirclement is one of its most serious international faults.

Bilateral relations have been broken since 1978, when Bolivia decided to take this step because the negotiation with Chile, which remained for history as the Abrazo de Charaña, ended in a stalemate.

Arce also vindicated the ICJ ruling of October 1, 2018, and called it a "sentence", something that contrasts with the word "report" used to refer to that verdict by former President Evo Morales, who filed the lawsuit in The Hague.

"The ICJ, in its judgment of October 1, 2018, made it clear that there is a long history of dialogues, exchanges and negotiations aimed at identifying an appropriate solution to Bolivia's Mediterranean situation, following the War of the Pacific and the 1904 Treaty, without concrete results having been achieved to date," the president assured.

Arce added that the Court's decision "far from defeatist interpretations, opens a new scenario in the bilateral dialogue, in which the cycle of confrontations has been closed and a phase of rapprochement is opened, based on the integration of twinned peoples, through dialogue, cooperation and complementarity".

At the end of the event, the pro-government senator Leonardo Loza highlighted Arce's speech and underlined the call he made to Boric to influence the issue.  "A calm speech, a speech of work, a speech of agenda, a speech of call to our brother government of Chile so that it can put its good offices to solve this historical demand of the Bolivian people", said the legislator. 

Meanwhile, Alejandro Reyes, deputy of Comunidad Ciudadana, indicated that there is improvisation in the government, given that Arce went to Chile, to Boric's inauguration, "thinking that he was going to improve our condition with respect to the issue of sovereignty in the Pacific", however, late he realized the harsh reality. "Our foreign relations are becoming more and more amateurish", he affirmed. 

In the official act, the different State institutions, ministries and social sectors made floral offerings at the foot of the monument to Eduardo Abaroa. There was no parade. 

Arce asks Boric to put an end to the cloistered status and conditions relations with Chile to the solution of the maritime issue

 The President ratified that the right to the sea is inalienable and imprescriptible. He pointed out that the Bolivian encirclement is one of Chile's most serious international faults.

President Luis Arce asked this Wednesday his Chilean counterpart, Gabriel Boric, to put an end to the Bolivian enclaustration and ratified that diplomatic relations with that country can only be reestablished when the maritime issue is resolved.

In a 15-minute speech from the Abaroa Square in La Paz, the head of state advocated for a dialogue in "good faith" and stressed that the right to the sea is "inalienable and imprescriptible" for the country.

"We hope that, under the leadership of our brother President Gabriel Boric, an end will be put to the enclosure of the Bolivian people, an open wound in our great homeland for more than 143 years," said the highest national authority.

Likewise, he emphasized that "Chile is aware that the Bolivian confinement is one of its most serious international faults and that the immense damage it has committed is in the international conscience".

He also indicated that "the reestablishment of diplomatic relations can only be given in the framework of the solution to the pending maritime issue", considering that the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, in October 2018, "opens a phase of rapprochement based on the integration of twinned peoples, through dialogue, cooperation and complementarity".

According to Arce, Bolivia and Chile can continue their dialogue and exchange in a spirit of good neighborliness to address issues related to Bolivia's landlocked situation, a solution that both have recognized is a matter of mutual interest.

The President also highlighted national initiatives aimed at improving integration, such as the development of the port of Ilo (Peru) and the Ichilo-Mamoré waterway projects. However, he stressed that the Mediterranean condition has not only economic, but also cultural, political and social consequences.

"Bolivia and Chile have greater opportunities if they work together (...) We are sure that sooner or later the injustice will be solved", concluded the President when recalling the 143 years of the Chilean invasion. 

Case items: Brazil and Panama admit extradition of Parada brothers

 The Public Prosecutor's Office affirms that all the requirements requested by both countries have been complied with, so now they are waiting for an official response.

The Public Ministry confirmed this Wednesday that all the requirements were sent, both to Brazil and Panama, for the extradition of the brothers Antonio and Guillermo Parada, main accused in the case of phantom items in the Santa Cruz City Hall, therefore, they are now waiting for the official response.

"It has already been made on the part of the country of Brazil the admission of the request for extradition of Antonio Parada, so the Public Ministry already complied with all the requirements, for its part, also the Chancellery, since we have been working together with them. At this moment, we only have to wait for Brazil's answer", indicated the prosecutor Marcela Terceros, in contact with Gigavisión.

She pointed out that in the case of Panama, to extradite Guillermo, the extradition request was already admitted by the local authorities and now it only remains to wait for the answer.

"This no longer depends on us, because we have complied with all the requirements that have been demanded for Parada's extradition. We are waiting for the response so that the prosecutor's office can continue with the investigations and thus make a conclusive request to give a prompt response to the population", indicated Terceros.

"Tony" Parada, the main investigated in the case of ghost items, has a temporary political refuge in Brazil. While his brother Guillermo was apprehended at the Panama airport when he was trying to travel to the United States at the end of December 2021.

Evo has been receiving remuneration from the State for two decades

 The MAS leader has been a senior leader of the coca growers of Chapare (Cochabamba) for more than 25 years. The leaders are entitled to receive the "union dues".

Former President Evo Morales has been living off the State for more than 20 years. First he was deputy for the Tropic of Cochabamba from 1997 to 2005, then he was president from 2006 to 2019 and from 2021 to date he receives his life annuity as former head of state. In addition, he received since the 80's the "union fee" for being a coca growers' leader.

This issue becomes relevant as a result of the ruling of the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (TCP) that provides compensation to the former ruler because he was disqualified as a senatorial candidate for the 2020 general elections.

Morales began his activity as a leader in the 80's and as he climbed the ranks he received the "union dues". Since the 90's he has been a top leader of the coca growers of Cochabamba.

In 1997 he was elected as deputy for the Cochabamba tropics for Izquierda Unida (United Left). This, after two failed attempts in the 1989 and 1993 elections.

In 2002 he was candidate for president for MAS and also ran for congressman, since the Political Constitution of the State at that time allowed him to run for the presidency and at the same time run for a congressional seat. He came second in the presidential elections, but again won a seat in the lower house.

The former president has been president of the Coordinating Committee of the Six Federations of the Tropic of Cochabamba for more than 25 years. As a congressman, he spent eight years in the Chamber of Deputies and as a governor, 14 years in power.

Morales lost his parliamentary immunity in October 2001, accused of the death of a policeman and a soldier. After filing an appeal to the Constitutional Court, in March 2002 he regained his privilege as a legislator.

A duality

A source who worked in the former Congress explained that Evo Morales, like the rest of the parliamentarians, received a salary of between US$3,000 and US$3,500.

He also indicated that as a legislator and later as president, Morales served at the same time as a union leader, to defend the interests of the Chapare coca growers. This meant that he had his influence as a congressman and at the same time promoted mobilizations with his "union power."

"He had a duality of functions that he never broke. The road blockades were a force that he played as a leader, when he was president he was also president of the Six Federations of the Tropic of Cochabamba. This duality does not exist anywhere in the world," he added. 

"Vicious of power".

MAS co-founder Román Loayza said that Morales is "a vicious of power". This, because he has been a union leader for more than 30 years and has been "maintained with the union dues" since then. In addition, he recalled that he tried to stay as president indefinitely and now seeks to be a candidate for the 2025 elections.

"Before he was a congressman he has been maintained with the union quota, with the work of the Chapare comrades since the 80s. So, he is a vicious of power, he eternally wants to be a leader, he eternally wants to be a politician and that cannot be. We are going to fight, without affecting Lucho and David, with the Instrument for the Sovereignty of the People (IPSP) so that Evo Morales is no longer a candidate," said the former leader.

Loayza criticized the fact that Morales is not satisfied with having governed the country for approximately 14 years. He also regretted that the Chapare coca growers and some members of the ruling party have him "as an eternal president" of the union and the party, which even goes against their internal statutes.

Word unfulfilled

Morales has received since January of last year his annuity of 21,640 bolivianos. In 2007, during his first years as president, he proposed to annul this economic remuneration received by former presidents.

"We have decided with comrade Álvaro García Linera, when we leave the Government Palace we will not receive any salary as former president or former vice president, we have made a proposal to the National Congress that the President and Vice President will not receive any salary for life", he said 15 years ago.

Morales stopped receiving resources from the State during the time he was in exile after the October 2019 crisis.

Doria Medina: The fight against cancer is made from the strength that your loved ones give you.

The Bolivian businessman and politician talked to Página Siete Digital about that stage and his new projects, among them the support to the fight against this disease.

Hours after revealing that he has been facing cancer since last year, the Bolivian businessman and politician talked to Página Siete Digital about this stage, his present and his future.   

Samuel Doria Medina is clear that the strength of the family is key in this battle and he knows it because he sheltered himself with that factor. 

In this context, he makes it clear that he is back and plans many projects, among them the support to the fight against this disease.

How did you receive the news of the cancer?  

Of course it was bad news. The first reaction is one of disbelief, but immediately afterwards you know that you have to put yourself in the hands of the doctors.   

What was the reaction of your family?  

I am really grateful to my family, who have supported me in every way. I would say that the fight against this disease, to a large extent, is done from the strength that your loved ones give you.   

What was the hardest part of the treatment?  

The side effects of chemotherapy. There are days when you can't lift your eyelids. On those days, what remains is faith, family and hope.   

Was it an early detection?  

Yes. And in that, it's good for all of us to remember the enormous importance of being alert and having regular check-ups. That is one of the things I have learned. The importance of prevention.   

How long ago was the disease detected?  

I was detected last year.   

How do you see the Bolivian health system, do you think it is ready to fight cancer?  

In Bolivia there are many talented professionals with a great humanistic vocation in medicine. However, there are still great challenges in technology and above all in access for all to quality medicine.   

You were diagnosed with cancer in the middle of the pandemic. How did you cope with the disease during the peaks of contagion?  

Following the doctors' recommendations and, as I said, with the support of my family and many friends.   

What activities did you have to put on hold because of the treatment?  

There was a moment, the weeks of chemotherapy, when it was very difficult to do any activity. Thank God, my teams have been up to the challenges, since I am promoting a moment of strong investment in our country. For example, with the construction of Green Tower in La Paz, the tallest tower in Bolivia and one of the most modern in Latin America, a project that has generated a lot of employment for thousands and thousands of Bolivian families, and therefore, a project that could not stop.   

What habits changed in your life?  

The truth is that after the chemotherapy stage I have returned to practically all my activities.   

What can you rescue from this stage?  

The value of family, friends, the importance of hope and my commitment stronger than ever to support the fight against cancer in our country.  

Evo and MAS hardliners speak of "traitors"; Cuellar activates denunciations

 The deputy will file a criminal complaint today against his colleague Héctor Arce for "discrimination and racism" and will challenge his expulsion from MAS at the TSE.

The former President Evo Morales and the hard line of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) from the Chapare region are making the discourse that in the blue party there is no division, but there are traitors, in allusion to the Santa Cruz Congressman Rolando Cuellar.

In response, the alluded demanded to present proofs and announced that today he will activate the accusations against his detractors.

"In the MAS there is no division, what there is is betrayal. From the first moment, there has always been betrayal, (...) one thing is division, another thing is betrayal", insisted Morales in his program "Evo is people, leader of the humble" of the coca growers' radio station Kawsachun Coca.

In this line, Senator Leonardo Loza, who accompanied him in the radio program, emphasized the idea that there are "traitors" in the blue party and assured that the MAS "will never" be divided.

"It is not (strange) that some useful to the right speak badly of Evo, speak badly of the tropic, invent speeches to try to fragment us (...) We are not divided and we will never be divided. There will be traitors who will sell out, who will go like chitacos behind the great oppressors, but the people, under the leadership of our brother Evo, we are going to continue united", Loza stressed. Both avoided mentioning Cuellar's name.

Last week, the MAS disciplinary commission announced the expulsion of Deputy Cuellar, who leads the renovating current in the ruling party. The legislator from Santa Cruz is asking, together with the Eastern Block which brings together several social organizations, for the renewal of the national directive of his party through a congress.

The initiative annoyed the national leadership, which did not hesitate to submit him to an internal process and threaten to take away his seat in the Legislative.

In response, Cuellar asked Morales and Loza to say with "name and surname" and prove their accusations, if they do not, they are simply defaming.

The legislator announced that this Monday morning he will activate the criminal complaint against his colleague Héctor Arce and will also file a complaint with the Ethics Commission for having called him "scabies", he will also challenge his expulsion before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

"I am filing before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal an appeal that interposes nullity to the illegal resolution issued by the non-existent (disciplinary) tribunal. I am also formalizing a criminal complaint to Congressman Héctor Arce for discrimination and racism", detailed Cuéllar.

Another resource he announced he will present before the TSE is "an action of compliance so that the electoral entity audits the MAS statute, when the current national leadership was elected and when its term ended", requesting the compliance of the Political Parties Law and exhorting the MAS to convene a national congress of the MAS as soon as possible.

In this scenario, MAS senator Félix Ajpi, who is also representative of the intercultural people of the north of La Paz, emphasized that MAS is not divided, only that there are some divergent ideas to the national leadership, but that this cannot be considered as treason. 

"There was no betrayal from any of them, neither from comrade Angelica (Ponce) nor from congressman Rolando (Cuellar). Surely comrade Evo and Senator Loza have understood this way, but I believe that there is no betrayal, perhaps they are obstinate ideas of comrade Rolando, but I do not see it as betrayal", said Ajpi to Página Siete. 

Protest against YPFB paralyzes downtown La Paz

  Tanker drivers are blocking the central avenue 16 de Julio, in La Paz, to demand Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) to cancel the contracting process that they qualify as "discriminatory" because it affects 1,000 direct jobs.

The road closures are being observed from Montes Avenue, in the vicinity of the Bolivian National Brewery (CBN), to the Plaza del Estudiante, at the end of El Prado, where fuel trucks were parked on the roads where public and private transport circulates, reported Página Siete.

"We are complying with this measure because we feel discriminated against by YPFB. They are leaving 1,000 families without work directly and more than 5,000 indirect jobs because of this discrimination we are suffering," said one of the protesters.

"We are really asking for the cancellation of this hiring, since we are leaving around 1,000 families without work, including drivers, mechanics and others," another driver told Unitel.

"There are more than 600 tanker truck drivers affected with this hiring process. We are small companies, drivers of families that have been affected and without jobs. The intention is not to harm public transport, but to dialogue with oilfields, from whom we hope that they will call us to dialogue", said another of those affected.

There are 81 airfields authorized by the DGAC and 90.1% operate in Santa Cruz.

 Of the 81 private airstrips distributed in Beni, Tarija, Santa Cruz and one in Potosí. Most of them are located in the department of Santa Cruz. 

There are 81 private airfields in Bolivia that are authorized to operate and are registered with the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC). Of the total, 90.1% are operating in the department of Santa Cruz and most are used by agribusiness and cattle ranchers. There is almost no control on the runways and all of them have the minimum requirements to operate. 

EL DEBER had access to the airfield records at the DGAC. In addition, in the documentation are the steps that must be fulfilled to enable a runway.

If a company or an individual wants to enable a runway somewhere in the country must initiate a series of procedures before the DGAC. The first step is to obtain a certificate of registration and operation of a private airfield from the DGAC. In this document, the state aeronautical agency authorizes the runway according to a series of inspections. This certificate is valid for five years and there are 81 now in full force and effect.

Then, the DGAC issues an administrative resolution detailing the inspection of the airfield. This inspection verifies the perimeter fence of the runway, access to the airfield and its maintenance, the length of the runway, signaling, indicator devices, whether there is a fire truck and whether night operations can be carried out.

Few companies or individuals comply with these measures. One of them is the San Cristóbal mining company, which enabled the Toldos airfield in the municipality of Colcha K, in the department of Potosí.

"By the Directorate of the National Aeronautical Registry, proceed with the renewal of the certification, qualification and consequent registration of the private aerodrome named 'Toldos', located in the Colcha K Municipality, Nor Lipez Province, Department of Potosí, with the following geographical coordinates: Latitude 21°10'8.59", Longitude 67°10'48.14", in the name of Empresa Minera San Cristóbal S.A., for a period of five (5) years computable from the issuance of this Administrative Resolution", says part of the enabling resolution for the Toldos aerodrome.

Thus, there are several runway registrations. 81 are in force, of which 14 expire their certificates this year. The DGAC allows the renewal of operations for another five years.   

More airfields

Santa Cruz concentrates most of the airfields in Bolivia. Seventy-three of the 81 nationwide are located in various areas of the Santa Cruz department. Most of them were built by livestock and agro-industrial entrepreneurs.  

In Santa Cruz, it was known that an anti-drug operation was carried out in one airfield, called Mundaka, in 2019. However, the then director of the Special Force against Drug Trafficking (Felcn), Maximiliano Dávila, now detained in the San Pedro de La Paz prison, ordered the results of the operation to be annulled.

Now, the Mundaka airfield is called Aeroparque La Cruceña. This airstrip, according to the registration certificate 023 is owned by Iber León Gorena and María Jesús León de Mundaka. It was registered in the 2021 management, but in 2014 the change of name was requested.

According to the DGAC constant inspections are made to private airfields in the country; however, there are no reports of the results of the visits to the 81 runways and only in the resolutions it is established that the aeronautical state will be able to verify the airfields without the need of permits.

Senator Centa Rek, of the Creemos alliance, announced that she will initiate a request for a written report to the Ministers of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo; and of Public Works, Edgar Montaño, so that they explain the types of controls that are carried out in the airfields, the controls to the flights and if the work of the anti-drug Police exists in these 81 airstrips.

The Creemos legislators have sent letters making these facts known to international organizations such as the European Union (EU) in Bolivia, the mission of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the office of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), among others, because the fight against drug trafficking and drugs in Bolivia is not being carried out as it should and they are also responsible. They have to redirect their policies (of support) in the country, demand that there be certain controls", affirmed Senator Centa Rek.  

In the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), they join the control of the airfields and ask the DGAC to carry out periodic inspections to the runways. "Of course there must be control of flights from any airport or airfield in the country. Work must be done to avoid the use of airstrips for drug trafficking and other crimes," said Congresswoman Gloria Quispe.

The mining company Paititi also has an airfield in the municipality of San José de Chiquitos. Its registration is valid and expires in 2024. There are other agricultural companies that also have their own airstrips, most of which are in Chiqutania.    

Study: drugs move between $US 2,000 MM and $US 2,500 MM per year

 An academic study sponsored by UAGRM's economics department and led by economist Alejandro Banegas estimates that drugs (cocaine and marijuana) generate a turnover equivalent to 5% of GDP.

A study, endorsed by the Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno (Uagrm), reveals that the economic movement of illicit drug activity generates an economic movement of between US$2 billion and US$2.5 billion per year in the country.

The study was prepared by Alejandro Banegas, former director of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), and sponsored by the Uagrm, with the endorsement of its economics department. It will be published in a scientific journal.

The study aims to quantify and evaluate the importance of drugs, particularly cocaine and marijuana, in the Bolivian economy. It is also an experiment to determine what would happen if these drugs were legalized.

According to Banegas, there have been several approaches to the issue in the past.

For example, a study by Ricardo Rocha in 2001 came to quantify the illegal drug economy in Bolivia at 7% of GDP in the 1990s.

Subsequently, he said that in 2016 the Financial Investigations Unit (UIF) estimated that the illegal activity generated a movement of US$2.5 billion a year, or an equivalent to 8% of GDP.

Based on that background and the analysis of new variables, Banegas' study makes a more current approximation of the impact this has on the Bolivian economy.

"In terms of economic movement, we have estimated 5% of GDP, that is between 2,000 million and 2,500 million dollars. It is 5% with +0-1% as a confidence interval," he specified.

Two dimensions

The economist said that the impact of cocaine and marijuana is evaluated in the study from two dimensions.

On the one hand, the annual economic movement or flow and the other perspective seeks to establish how much is materialized in the economy as capital stock or patrimony. That is, how much of that movement has been transformed into houses, buildings and infrastructure via money laundering.

"Under that perspective, you have an annual economic flow of 5%. But in terms of capital, if you measure how these flows became houses and equity, we have estimated that this can have an impact of between 7% and 10% of GDP. This represents between US$2.8 billion to US$4 billion," Banegas pointed out.

To reach these estimates, the study took into account the potential production of drugs, which is a function of the number of hectares of coca leaf in excess.

It also analyzed the yield per hectare of surplus coca, the kilograms of coca paste obtained per hectare, and the domestic and foreign prices of the drug.

For this, police reports, United Nations documents and others were reviewed. "There are two variables that account for 95% of the explanation.  Seventy percent is due to surplus coca leaf crops and 25% is oriented to the price of the drug," said Banegas. He explained that of the 100% of cocaine production, 3% is consumed domestically and 97% is exported.

Drug legalization

Banegas indicated that the study addresses in a second part the impact that an eventual legalization of drugs, particularly marijuana, could have as a source of new tax collection. According to the economist, this could generate an effective fight against drug trafficking, because if it is legalized, the business is taken away from those who are dedicated to the illicit activity and the State can take more advantage of it.

"Legalizing the production and domestic consumption of marijuana could have revenues between 200 and 400 million dollars per year from taxes and this represents between 0.5% and 1% of GDP",he stressed.

Marijuana, feasible

Banegas said that the legalization of marijuana for domestic consumption is more feasible than other drugs. "In some countries there are certain states where it has been legalized and some grams of marijuana can be consumed. In Uruguay there is an exportable industry with certified hectares and where consumers must register," he said.

Banegas pointed out that in the Chiquitania region of Santa Cruz, crops could be certified for consumption, medicinal purposes or tourism.

He pointed out that the price of a kilo of marijuana is estimated at 100 dollars in Bolivia, but at the borders it goes up to 400 and even 800 dollars per kilo and if it were legalized, the potential income for the country would be significant. 

Analysts see impacts, but the country does not control surpluses

Economist Alberto Bonadona estimates that the drug circuit does not move more than 1 billion dollars, because the surplus is not controlled in the country.

"This has its weight in the economy, there are producers of coca, pisacocas and cocaine is produced, but it is in the export where more money is going to be earned. It leaves money in Bolivia, but not in the proportion that would be expected", the analyst pointed out.

According to Bonadona, the big mafias are not run by Bolivians, but by Colombians and Mexicans, who are the ones who appropriate most of the surplus in markets. "Bolivia should not exceed 1,000 million dollars, otherwise it would be observed in the economy, I do not think it would even exceed the flow of remittances," said Bonadona.

Economist Mike Gemio said that the money that originates in drugs is laundered into the economy with the exchange of goods and services. "When a vehicle is purchased, the importing company will issue an invoice and taxes will be paid, then the good can be sold, but the money enters the formal economy. In that way it enters the national accounts," he said.

The economist added that drug production and its weight in the economy is difficult to quantify, but some estimates can be made based on seizures, coca supply and surpluses generated.