Bolivian attorney general arrested after U.S. visa revocation, officials said Thursday, as authorities accused the country’s top prosecutor of money laundering and drug trafficking and displayed bundles of cash allegedly smuggled from his home.
Roger Mariaca, who was sanctioned by the United States earlier this week, was taken into custody Wednesday night in Santa Cruz, two days after U.S. authorities revoked his visa over alleged ties to narcotrafficking.
Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said police intercepted four people early Thursday trying to remove cash from Mariaca’s residence using an ambulance. Video released by the ministry appeared to show officers pulling stacks of currency from hidden panels in the vehicle. Oviedo said a “criminal organization entrenched in the justice system has been dismantled,” and alleged the Attorney General’s Office under Mariaca protected and facilitated narco-terrorism.
According to officials, the arrests included four prosecutors, six staff members from the public prosecutor’s office, and the four individuals found in the ambulance. Oviedo said the operation involved cooperation with the U.S. government in the fight against terrorism.
Local media reported Mariaca was detained at Viru Viru International Airport. During a live broadcast, a representative of the prosecutor’s office described the incident as an “abduction,” according to international news reports. The U.S. State Department said Monday that Mariaca took bribes to enable drug trafficking and help violent offenders evade accountability, allegations he has denied.
Bolivian attorney general arrested amid U.S. ties push
The raids unfolded as President Rodrigo Paz, who took office in November 2025, seeks closer relations with Washington after two decades of strained ties. On Monday, the United States revoked visas for 12 Bolivian officials and deemed nine additional Bolivians ineligible for visas. In March, Paz brought Bolivia into the Shield of the Americas, a U.S.-led regional alliance aimed at combating transnational organized crime.
Interim leadership named
Mariaca was appointed attorney general in October 2024. Following his detention, the Attorney General’s Office announced that the next most senior prosecutor, Luis Montano Morales, will serve as interim chief due to Mariaca’s “definitive absence.” Mariaca’s attorney, Romel Ipamo, told local media his client will fully cooperate with investigators.
During Mariaca’s tenure, Bolivian authorities captured Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastian Marset, who had been on the U.S. most-wanted fugitives list. State television showed him being handed to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents at the Santa Cruz airport and flown to the United States. He made his first court appearance in federal court in Virginia in March.
On Wednesday, local outlets aired a video purportedly showing Marset on the day of his arrest saying, “Mariaca is my friend.” AFP reported it could not verify the video’s authenticity.
Police also raided prosecutor’s offices in Sucre, Santa Cruz and La Paz. Footage shared on social media showed officers entering the Sucre headquarters, where communications chief Claudia Pardo denounced the operation as “illegal” while surrounded by hooded police. She later said she was under arrest.
The operation and ensuing arrests come amid broader international scrutiny of criminal justice systems and prosecutions, similar to high-profile cases such as the Caleb Flynn murder trial in the United States.
