Former Bolivian president Luis Arce detained in investigation involving public funds

Former Bolivian president Luis Arce has been detained in connection with an investigation into alleged misuse of public funds during his tenure as minister of economy, according to reports.

The detention occurred on Wednesday in the Sopocachi neighborhood of La Paz, where police took Arce into custody, according to former presidential minister María Nela Prada. Prada said Arce was detained while alone and taken to the country’s Special Force to Fight Crime.

“I want to inform the Bolivian people and the international community that just moments ago former president Luis Alberto Arce Catacora was taken in Sopocachi,” Prada said. “It was a completely illegal detention that happened while he was alone.”

Local newspaper El Deber reported that Arce was placed into a vehicle and taken to an anti-crime unit in La Paz at around 3 p.m. local time. According to the outlet, the detention is tied to a long-running investigation involving the Indigenous Fund, a government program intended to finance community development projects.

Prosecutors have alleged that significant sums were diverted into personal accounts during the period when Arce served as minister of economy. The case has previously involved several officials, including former lawmaker Lidia Patty, according to El Deber.

Luis Arce served as president of Bolivia from 2020 until 2024, following a long tenure as the country’s minister of economy under former president Evo Morales. Arce won the presidency after the political crisis of 2019, when Morales resigned and left the country amid mass protests and allegations of election irregularities.

Bolivian authorities have not yet released formal charges in Arce’s case or provided further public information about the investigation.