US questions legality of Bolivian arrests of ex-officials
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The United States says it is concerned about increasingly ″anti-democratic behavior and the politicization of the legal system” in Bolivia following the arrests of officials from the country’s former interim government. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that there are questions about the legality of the arrests and urged Bolivia to release the detainees pending “an independent and transparent inquiry into human rights and due process concerns.” Blinken said the arrests threaten to undermine democracy in Bolivia, which held national elections in October. This month, a Bolivian judge ordered former interim president Jeanine Áñez held for four months in preventative detention.
