Colombians Involved in Attempted Assassination of Luis Arce

On Monday, Bolivia's Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo denounced that Colombian mercenaries were involved in a magnicide attempt against Luis Arce in 2020.

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Del Castillo presented audiotapes, emails, and documents showing that former Defense Minister Fernando Lopez, who was part of the coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez, had contact with illegal groups that were planning a new coup d’état in this Andean country.

Contacts between the Bolivian far-right and foreign mercenaries were facilitated by Pretel Arcangel, a Colombian citizen who organized a "business trip" to Bolivia before the end of the 2020 presidential elections, in which Luis Arce was taking part as candidate of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). Currently, Arcangel is accused of being one of the intellectual authors of the Assassination of Haiti's president Jovenel Moise.

Another mercenary who is involved in this murder is German Rivera, who also visited Bolivia in the same period along with other Colombian mercenaries.

The then commander of the Armed Forces Gen. Sergio Orellana was also involved with the plan. The plotters were prepared to hire 300 persons and expected foreign intervention.

Disagreements between the ministers and divisions inside the Bolivian Armed forces seem to have thwarted the plan. Arce's popularity after the elections appeared to have also influenced the decision to abandon the plan.

"We know what you have done, and we know what you are doing. We ask all of you to stop and respect the rules of democracy and this country's institutions. We will not allow you to murder and steal the People's democracy once more", Del Castillo said.