Repression in Bolivia: 1 journalist injured and 4 civilians detained is the balance of the 24-hour strike in Santa Cruz

Powerful street crashes between civilians and police broke out this Friday in the region of Santa Cruz (in eastern Bolivia), after the imprisonment of its governor, the opposition leader Luis Fernando Camachofor a case related to the departure of Evo Morales of the presidency in 2019.

Hundreds of people expressed their rejection of the Camacho kidnapping by the repressive forces of the government of Luis Arce in some neighborhoods of the city of Santa Cruzeconomic capital of bolivian and the most populated in the country with almost 2 million inhabitants.

During the afternoon of this Friday, a group of young people attacked the police department command throwing stones and firecrackers, he also burned rubber tires in adjacent streets, a reporter from the news agency found AFP.

The uniformed repressed the demonstrators with tear gas and at least four civilians were arrestedaccording to the first reports.

Besides, three vehicles that were on the street were burned.

The private television channel Unitel showed images of one of its journalists with wounds on the bodyproduct of the action of the police officers who shot rubber pellets against those who were covering the protest.

These demonstrations have been carried out in the midst of a call from the Santa Cruz Civic Committeeto one 24 hour strike this Friday and the blockade of streets and avenues.

The protests are held in rejection of the arrest of camachoa 43-year-old lawyer and businessman, who is accused by the Prosecutor’s Office of “terrorism”indicated as a key piece in the social mobilizations that promoted the resignation of the leftist Morales after 14 years in power.

The Prosecutor’s Office assured at that time that there was a coup against Morales (2006-2019)

The governor, who briefly stated at the court hearing that “I’m not going to give up”, was transferred to chonchocoroa maximum security prison in the Andean pampa of the department of Peace.

Camacho called on Bolivians to prevent the ruling party “impose a dictatorship like in Venezuela and Cuba”.

He expressed that the only thing he did in 2019 was to oppose a “fraud” of Morales, in the elections of that year, to be reelected until 2025.

Morales always denied the charge and said that he suffered a coup civil-police-military planned.

The Bolivian Justice dictated this Friday four months of preventive detention against the governor Luis Fernando Camachofor the case known as “coup d’état I” due to the 2019 crisis.

“An army, dark, abusive, intimidating and incongruous judicial decision, sent to prison for 4 months in chonchocoroto the Governor of Santa Cruz,” said Camacho’s communication team on the politician’s Twitter account.

The judge of the eighth Criminal Investigation Court directed the hearing of precautionary measures against Camacho that took place during more than nine hours virtuallyin which the governor followed her from the units of the Special Force to Fight Crime (Felcc), in the city of La Paz, where he has been detained since last Wednesday.

At the end of the hearing, the plaintiff’s lawyers, the former pro-government legislator lydia pattythe State Attorney General’s Office, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Government (Interior) announced that They will appeal the ruling to increase the preventive detention to six monthsas initially requested.

In addition, the defense of the governor of Santa Cruz said that he will appeal the judge’s decision by stating that “there is no justification for preventive detention in a jail.”

(With information from AFP)

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