Bolivia rules ex-president Arce to five month detention

A Bolivian judge said former president Luis Arce will be held in pre-trial detention for five months after he was detained earlier this week as he was investigated for alleged embezzlement.

Arce, who leaves office in November, will be held in a prison in the capital La Paz and is likely to be tried over allegations of economic abuse related to the diversion of funds to projects in Indigenous communities while serving as economy minister under former leader Evo Morales.

A hearing is scheduled for May 12, 2026.

The investigation into Arce focuses on allegations of irregular payments from a fund known as the Indigenous Fund, which aims to fund projects for Indigenous communities. Local media, citing investigators, reported earlier this week that evidence presented in the case linked Arce to misuse of public funds.

Arce was detained by police on Wednesday and denied any wrongdoing.

“I am completely innocent of the charges that have been happily leveled against me for clearly political reasons. The government is looking for a scapegoat,” Arce said at Friday’s hearing.

He told the judge that he had attended only one of the Fund meetings “by chance” and that he was unaware of the transactions mentioned by the prosecutor during the hearing, which took place virtually.

The judge said Arce would be kept separate from those serving his sentence in La Paz prison during his pre-trial detention and could request separation for health reasons if necessary.

His detention came less than two months after centrist candidate Rodrigo Paz won the October runoff election, ending the nearly two-decade dominance of the leftist MAS party represented by Arce. Paz vowed to fight corruption in state institutions.

Arce was president of the South American nation from 2020 to 2025 and previously served as economy minister between January and November 2019.