Former Bolivian president Luis Arce Catacora (2020–2025) was arrested this Wednesday in La Paz. This was reported by former Minister of the Presidency María Nela Prada, who condemned the arrest as a “completely illegal kidnapping.”
In a video posted on social media, Prada said Arce was arrested while “he was alone” and that the arrest was carried out without official information.
“I want to report to the Bolivian people and to the international community that just moments ago, they kidnapped former president Luis Alberto Arce Catacora near Sopocachi,” said Prada, who recorded the message while heading to the headquarters of the Special Force to Fight Crime (FELCC), where Arce was allegedly taken.
She added that the action was carried out “without following the proper procedures whatsoever.”
According to later statements by the Minister of Government (Interior), Marco Antonio Oviedo, authorities are identifying Arce as the “main person responsible” in the Indigenous Fund case. The attorney general, Roger Mariaca, reported that the former president invoked his right to remain silent during his statement and that he will remain in police custody tonight while awaiting his indictment hearing.
Press sources indicated that the arrest took place in the context of the investigation into the so-called Indigenous Fund case, which resumed this week with the arrest of former lawmaker Lidia Patty—the main accuser in the “Coup I” trial over the 2019 Sacaba and Senkata massacres during the coup d’état against Evo Morales.
After the right-wing victory in Bolivia’s general elections in August 2025, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered the release of Jeanine Áñez, Santa Cruz governor Luis Fernando Camacho, and former Potosí civic leader Marco Antonio Pumari—the main defendants in that process.
Arce was arrested around 3:00 p.m. (local time) by police officers and taken in a white SUV to the Felcc headquarters. Citing police officers, local media reported that the former president, who left office in November, reacted calmly to the arrest.
