Bolivian coup mongers Luis Fernando Camacho (left) and Marco Antonio Pumari (right). Photo: Diario Red.
In a ruling widely criticized by social and political organizations, the Supreme Court of Justice of Bolivia ordered the release of two participants of the 2019 coup, Marco Antonio Pumari and Luis Fernando Camacho, from prison. Camacho, who was formerly the governor of the province of Santa Cruz, has been placed under house arrest. There are ongoing judicial proceedings against both of them for their roles in the coup against Evo Morales that ended with Jeanine Áñez’s self-proclamation as the president of the country.
Preventive detention measures lifted
The Supreme Court also lifted the preventive detention measures that were imposed on both opposition leaders. In Camacho’s case, he was placed under house arrest with benefits such as release for work and payment of a compensation, with the condition of monthly reporting to the authorities. His defense celebrated the ruling as a demonstration of “independence and impartiality of the courts.”
On the other hand, Pumari’s defense confirmed that the ruling grants his full freedom, conditioned only on attending any eventual summons and appearing before the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Potosí. The release order will be officially issued this week.
Former President Evo Morales condemned on social media the double standards of the Bolivian judicial system and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families.
Bolivia: Court Orders Release of Jeanine Áñez, Pushing Her Case to Legislature
The Áñez Case and the 2019 massacres
The resolution comes after another judicial decision earlier this week, when a judge suspended precautionary measures against the coup leader Jeanine Áñez and 12 other defendants for the repression in Senkata (El Alto) in November 2019. That operation left at least 20 people dead and more than 200 injured.
The key hearing on this case, along with that of the Sacaba (Cochabamba) massacre, had been postponed until Friday, August 29. Both episodes were the most severe massacres of the cycle of violence that followed the coup against Morales, carried out by the far right and the armed forces after the October 2019 elections.
The lifting of measures against Camacho and Pumari reignites the debate on the impunity and selectivity of Bolivian justice, questioned by both MAS-affiliated sectors and the opposition.
While the accused celebrate the ruling as a vindication, the victims of the 2019 repression condemned the judicial system for protecting those responsible for the coup and the massacres.
The outcome of the cases against Áñez and other former authorities will be key to determining whether Bolivia moves toward truth and justice or, as social organizations condemn, consolidates impunity.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
