On September 29, the U.S. State Department announced it had placed visa restrictions on several corrupt officials in Latin America. Under that policy, those officials and their families would be barred from freely entering the United States.
The most prominent name on that list is Bolivia's Attorney General, Roger Mariaca. The United States targeted Mariaca for "significant corruption" and the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs alleged that Mariaca was taking bribes from narco traffickers and helping them evade justice.
Mariaca was elected in 2024, and his corruption threatens President Trump's efforts to fight narcoterrorism and protect American interests. The move followed Secretary of State Marco Rubio slamming the left-wing governance of several South American nations, including Bolivia.
Now, Mariaca and others have been detained at the Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz.
Police in Bolivia detained Attorney General Roger Mariaca and Santa Cruz prosecutor Alberto Zeballos at Viru Viru airport on 30 September 2026. Bolivia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, which Mariaca heads, called the detention illegal and a kidnapping.
Mariaca and Zeballos flew from Sucre to Santa Cruz on Wednesday evening. Officers stopped them inside Viru Viru International Airport, the main airport of Santa Cruz, Opinión reported.
Mariaca is the Fiscal General del Estado, the attorney general who leads Bolivia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office. Zeballos heads that office in Santa Cruz, the eastern region around Bolivia’s largest city.
Opinión, a daily based in Cochabamba, first reported the arrests at 11:06 p.m. Bolivia time, or 03:06 UTC on Thursday. It cited official sources speaking to La Razón, a newspaper in La Paz.
The Bolivian government has reportedly accused Mariaca of leading a criminal organization.
El Gobierno de Bolivia acusó este jueves al fiscal general del Estado, Roger Mariaca, detenido la víspera en la región oriental de Santa Cruz, de liderar una «organización criminal» https://t.co/XASVD89nm6
— El Potosí (@elpotosinet) October 1, 2026
"The Government of Bolivia accused the Attorney General of the State, Roger Mariaca, who was detained the previous day in the eastern region of Santa Cruz, of leading a «criminal organization»," the post reads.
More than a dozen others were detained with Mariaca, including Zeballos.
El Gobierno boliviano confirma la detención del fiscal general Róger Mariaca y de otras 13 personas por una presunta red, según el Gobierno, en Fiscalía. Lo investigan por lavado y narcotráfico; Washington lo acusa de recibir sobornos para facilitarlo. pic.twitter.com/wtBdnHxozr
— Kernel News (@kernelnewsok) October 1, 2026
The translated post says, "The Bolivian government confirms the detention of Attorney General Róger Mariaca and 13 other individuals for an alleged network, according to the government, within the Attorney General's Office. He is being investigated for money laundering and drug trafficking; Washington accuses him of receiving bribes to facilitate it."
It appears that prosecutor Luis Montaño announced he's taking over as the new Attorney General following Mariaca's detention.
🚨🇧🇴 | PARA LIMPIAR LO QUE EL OTRO ENSUCIÓ: El fiscal Luis Montaño anunció la mañana de este jueves que asume como nuevo fiscal general del Estado tras la aprehensión de Róger Mariaca por graves acusaciones de narcotráfico.
— La Derecha Diario Bolivia (@DerechaDiarioBO) October 1, 2026
Montaño explicó que ante la ausencia del narco fiscal… pic.twitter.com/2LSar0rCzh
"Montaño explained that in the absence of the narco Attorney General, it fell to him to assume leadership of the Public Prosecutor's Office. 'I am taking on this responsibility as the most senior prosecutor, as required by the legal order of precedence,'" the post says.
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