Police repress self-organized march to demand release of Santa Cruz Governor

 Police repress self-organized march to demand release of the governor of Santa Cruz

The president of the Departmental Assembly, Zvonko Matkovic, had to be treated at the Kamiya clinic with other people affected by the gasification.

The police action took place once the column of the self-convoked march was arriving to the second lane in front of the Police Command on the second ring road. The gases affected people who were up to two blocks away from the police station.

After about 25 minutes the people returned again to the command to make their protest heard. The shouts were: "People listen, join the struggle, freedom, freedom" among others.

At the moment there is a tense calm despite the large police presence guarding the building of the olive green institution.

The president of the Departmental Assembly, Zvonko Matkovic, had to be treated at the San Juan de Dios hospital along with other people affected by the gasification.

Assemblywoman Paola Aguirre suffered a head wound and was treated at the Kamiya clinic. Later she will be transferred to San Juan de Dios hospital for a CAT scan.

Erwin Bazán, deputy of Creemos, said that they carried out a peaceful march that was gassed by orders of the ruling Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS). "They gassed the first authorities of the department and Assemblywoman Paola Aguirre they caused her a blunt wound. The mobilizations are permanent. We will not stop until this communist regime releases the governor of Santa Cruz", he said.

Regarding the police action, he said that it was a cowardly attitude because these are people who are within the law. "We are going to resume the vigil at the Police Command and at the Cristo Redentor," he said.

Several marchers ran towards the first ring asking restaurants in the area to open their doors to protect women and minors.

Police repress and arrest young people protesting at El Cristo for the imprisonment of Camacho

Young people who reject the detention of Luis Fernando Camacho and the police have been facing off since the afternoon. Three arrests are reported

Hard confrontations between young people who were trying to reach the Police Command, in protest at the detention of Governor Luis Fernando Camacho, and uniformed officers. After 8:00 p.m., the police managed to advance and take position at the roundabout of El Cristo Redentor, further driving the demonstrators away.

A second front repelled another group of young people advancing from Ovidio Barbery Avenue. A significant police contingent equipped with chemical riot control elements is maintained in the area.

It is known that several police officers were injured, although there is still no report on the exact number. On the other hand, a fire in a lot located in the vicinity of the Departmental Command was reported as a result of the explosion of firecrackers. Vehicles parked in the area also suffered damage, according to neighbors. EL DEBER was able to count about three motorized vehicles burned.

Police sources indicated that personnel from the GIOE special group of the Drug Trafficking Fight Force operated from the second, third and seventh floors of the police building. In the same way, they reported the capture of at least three young people, although other sources speak of five, who were taken inside the Departmental Command.

The confrontations at El Cristo Redentor between young people and police put a discordant note on the 24-hour strike that was held in Santa Cruz. As the afternoon of this Friday 30th fell, a small group of hooded young people went to the front of the Departmental Police Command launching rockets. The police repression incensed more young people who immediately went to the area and reinforced the protest.

Santa Cruz lived a relatively peaceful 24-hour strike. The measure taken by the Assembly of Cruceñidad demands the release of Governor Luis Fernando Camacho, detained preventively in the Chonchocoro prison on the outskirts of La Paz.

Burning tires, firecrackers and tear gas were part of the scene that is being experienced on the second ring and El Cristo Redentor, in the capital of Santa Cruz.

The demonstrators sought to reach the Departmental Police Command, which is one block from El Cristo, on Cristóbal de Mendoza Avenue. While at least 200 officers guard the place, the young people took different routes, such as 21 de Mayo Street and Cristóbal de Mendoza and Ovidio Barberí avenues.

Police gas protesters in Santa Cruz and departmental prosecutor's office burned down

 Police gassed protesters in Santa Cruz and the departmental Attorney General's Office was burned.

In the midst of the confrontations, the population took over the Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Santa Cruz, where destruction and fires were registered

The apprehension of the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, provoked this Wednesday afternoon several mobilizations in the department of Santa Cruz. As a result of these protests there were gasifications by the police in at least two points of the city. In addition, the premises of the departmental Prosecutor's Office were set on fire.

Christ the Redeemer, in the Second Ring, is one of the points of confrontation. The police arrived at this point to repress the people who were arriving to the rally called by the Pro Santa Cruz Committee, which was scheduled for 18:30.

Another of the points of gasification was in the vicinity of the Departmental Command of Santa Cruz. Some people gathered there to protest against Camacho's arrest, according to local media.

In addition, according to preliminary reports, the angry population took over the Santa Cruz Departmental Prosecutor's Office and started burning the institution.

In videos circulating on social networks, it can be seen how the doors of the Prosecutor's Office were smashed and how, from another point of this infrastructure, the facilities burned.

On Wednesday afternoon, after 14:00, the governor of Santa Cruz was apprehended by the police, in an act that was denounced as a "kidnapping" by several representatives. It is known that Camacho was taken by helicopter to the city of La Paz, but the location of the Santa Cruz authority is still unknown.

Camacho is admitted to the FELCC in the center of La Paz under strong police escort.

 After several hours of uncertainty about the whereabouts of Luis Fernando Camacho following his arrest, the governor of Santa Cruz was admitted to the Special Force Against of Struggle Against Against Against Against against Crime (FELCC) facilities in the center of the city of La Paz.

Around seven in the evening, Camacho entered the FELCC facilities on Sucre street, through the back door, with strong police custody.

After his arrest, it is rumored that the governor was taken by helicopter from Santa Cruz. Later, in El Alto, it was speculated that he had been taken to the FELCC in the Satellite zone, but shortly thereafter the caravan arrived in the center of La Paz.

While Camacho was being transported, the Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo, denied that the governor had suffered any injuries and assured that his health is stable.

Camacho was arrested in the case known as "Coup d'Etat I", which is being developed for the crime of terrorism and was initiated by the complaint of former deputy Lidia Patty.

Who is Luis Fernando Camacho, the governor that Luis Arce arrested in Bolivia?

 Luis Fernando Camacho Vaca (born February 15, 1979 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra) is a Bolivian businessman, lawyer, and politician. He has been the governor of the department of Santa Cruz since May 3, 2021.

Biography

Camacho was born on February 15, 1979 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. He is descended from immigrants from the department of Cochabamba and is the son of Santa Cruz businessman José Luis Camacho Parada (born 1945), who previously served as president of the Santa Cruz Civic Committee from 1981 to 1983. Camacho's father also became involved in business leadership, serving as President of the Santa Cruz Federation of Private Businesses from 1992 to 1994.

Camacho began his schooling in 1985 and graduated from high school in 1996 in his hometown. He studied law at the Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (UPSA), earning a law degree in 2003. He also completed postgraduate studies at the University of Barcelona in Spain, earning a master's degree in Financial Law and Tax Law in 2005.

Business career

During his working life, Camacho served as an assistant to the First Court of Civil and Commercial Affairs in Santa Cruz and as an official of the Third Court of Family Affairs in Santa Cruz. He is currently the director of the law firm "Corporación Jurídica." He also became involved in business with his family, serving as legal advisor and shareholder of the National Investment Life Group from 2009 to 2015.

Personal life

Before becoming publicly famous in 2019, Camacho had previously had two partners from which he had separated but it should be noted that in those past relationships he had 3 children, which are as follows: María Fernanda Camacho (born in 1997), Luis Fernando Camacho (born in 1999) and José Luis Camacho (born in 2009). Already being the president of the Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee and at the age of 40, Luis Fernando Camacho decides for the third time to marry again with his new partner Gabriela Antelo Miranda (born in 1981) who worked as a public relations officer with whom he had started dating since the beginning of 2019. But it would not be long before in June 2020, and without even having been married for a year, Camacho decides to divorce his wife Antelo again after a media scandal of domestic violence in the media. 

Later that same year of 2020, Luis Fernando Camacho makes public his new relationship but this time with the Queen of the 2019 Santa Cruz Carnival and model Fátima Jordán Bravo, who is a dentist (born in 1992) being 13 years younger than Camacho.

Civic-political career

In 2002, Camacho joined the political party Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, this being his first foray into politics. 18​ Camacho became at the age of 23 the vice president of the civic organization Unión Juvenil Cruceñista (UJC) remaining in office from 2002 to 2004.19​ Between 2008 and 2009, this organization would be identified by the International Federation for Human Rights as a paramilitary group.20​21​

From 2004, Camacho retired for a time from civic and political activism returning almost a decade later serving from 2013 to 2015 as the secretary general of the Provincial Civic Committees of Cruceñidad. 18​ In 2015, Camacho entered the Comité Cívico Pro Santa Cruz serving as the second vice president of the Committee until 2017.22​ That same year, Camacho assumes this time the position of first vice president of the Civic Committee until 2019.22​ In February 2019, amid accusations of pressures and arrangements for them to vote for him, he was elected and sworn in as the new president of the Santa Cruz Civic Committee for the period 2019-2021, replacing the former president Fernando Cuéllar Núñez.23​24​. He presented his resignation as president of the Santa Cruz civic committee to run as a candidate for the presidency of Bolivia. After stating: "I am not and will not be a candidate" and "I am disgusted to see personal interests above a nation!", which caused many criticisms of his consistency as a person.

Presidential nomination

On January 24, 2020, at an event held at the Europa Hotel in the city of La Paz, Camacho and Potosí's Marco Antonio Pumari presented their political alliance called "Creemos", which participated in that year's general election, a coalition made up of Civic Unity and the Christian Democratic Party, usually right-wing.

Political positions

His ideology has been described as fundamental Christian and ultra-Catholic.

He is placed on the extreme right. He has also been accused by feminists of being "misogynistic". His statements have been described as "violent" due to his alleged apology for drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, when he said "saving the differences, it was to take the agenda like Pablo Escobar did, but only to write down the names of the traitors of this people, because we want them to go to prison tomorrow, but not out of hatred and resentment, but for justice".

However, Camacho has thanked the support that he says has been offered by union movements, miners, police, armed forces, and social organizations in demonstrations.

Controversies

Federalism (2021)

On November 22, 2021, the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, announced the socialization and consultation to implement the federal model of Bolivia. This caused mixed opinions from many sectors and mayors. The Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) accused the governor of Santa Cruz of "wanting to divide Bolivia" and the mayor of Cochabamba, Manfred Reyes Villa, stated that federalism would be "the best thing" that would happen to Bolivia but it is not yet time to discuss it before the current conflicts are resolved. The mayor of Santa Cruz, Jhonny Fernández, saw "something strange" in the federalism proposal and that "there is a set of work that we have to do to consolidate the autonomies".

Link with Panama Papers

Then-Minister of Communications of Bolivia, Manuel Canelas, denounced Camacho to the public, presenting a document from the Panama Papers case, in which Camacho is identified as an intermediary in the offshore scheme, which could have favored the hiding of fortunes, tax evasion, and money laundering. Canelas responds that the document does not accuse anyone, and that Camacho is mentioned along with other people.

Nadia Beller

On November 26, 2019, Luis Fernando Camacho and Marco Antonio Pumari were seen walking in the city of Potosí with the Santa Cruz lawyer Nadia Beller, who belonged to the ranks of MAS and was a plurinomial candidate for deputy for MAS-IPSP in the 2019 national elections. Both received numerous criticisms from the Bolivian population for this contact. In turn, Camacho denied any connection with the MASist Nadia Beller. In October 2020, a video circulated on social media in which Nadia Beller appeared making statements in favor of Camacho. In response, Camacho stated that he had "no relationship" with Beller and that the video was part of a "dirty campaign" against him.

Filtración de audio de Marco Pumari in 2019

An audio leak revealed that Marco Pumari requested 250,000 dollars and control of two customs offices from Luis Fernando Camacho in exchange for being his running mate in the general elections.53​54​ Later, during an interview with Fernando del Rincón on CNN en español, it was demonstrated that Luis Fernando Camacho deliberately leaked the audio in which Pumari's request was revealed,55​ but this did not prevent Pumari from joining Luis Fernando Camacho in the nomination for the general elections.

Filtración de video en reunión privada con la prensa 2019

On December 28, 2019, a leaked video shows Luis Fernando Camacho meeting with trusted men and some representatives of the Bolivian press and media; "It was my father who closed with the military, so they wouldn't come out; for that reason, the person who went to talk to them and coordinate everything was Fernando López, current Minister of Defense, that's why he's a minister, to fulfill the commitments"; in the same video, Camacho urges the press representatives to collaborate with the mobilizations, not showing news and information that could affect the 21-day mobilization, referring to the violent events that occurred in places like Sacaba and Senkata

Police 'kidnaps' Luis Fernando Camacho and takes him to Viru Viru to transfer him to La Paz

 Sources from the Government of Santa Cruz report that the Santa Cruz authority was approached and taken out of his vehicle when he was about to arrive at his home. The Governor's lawyer reported that the agents broke the glass of his vehicle. The "operation" was violent.

The Governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, was intercepted this Wednesday by police agents, when the authority intended to enter his home.

According to sources from the Government, the authority was arrested and then forced to board a police car. The agents pointed their guns at Camacho and hit him, according to witnesses.

Governor Camacho, who is also the head of the Creemos opposition alliance, was being investigated by the Prosecutors for the 2019 crisis and had recently been accused of "terrorism" for the 36-day strike.

"We don't know exactly what kind of operation it is, we only know that he was kidnapped. They took him out of his vehicle. They broke the glass of the motorized vehicle and now they are taking him to Viru Viru," the authority's lawyer, Martín Camacho, told EL DEBER.

He explained that shortly before the "violent operation" he was summoned for an accusation of a supposed rape that may have occurred several decades ago.

"We inform the Bolivian people that the Bolivian Police carried out the arrest warrant against Mr. Luis Fernando Camacho," later announced the Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, in a message issued through his Twitter account.

Tension

In Viru Viru, several people, as well as officials from the Government, arrived at the platform to express their rejection of the operation activated by the Police around noon on Wednesday.

For his part, Camacho's driver related the way in which the departmental authority was arrested by the state security forces.

"They shot, they kicked me like robbing one, they took him (Camacho) in another motorized vehicle, they got him off the vehicle he was in, broke the glass and took him," the official explained.

"We are surprised, they shot us; they sprayed us with gas and reduced us," he added.