Bolivia’s New Police Commander Pledges “All-Out Fight” Against Corruption and Organized Crime

Col. Adrián Javier Álvarez Arismendi took charge of Bolivia’s police with a promise to launch an “all-out fight” against corruption, organized crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and money laundering.

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All-out fight

Speaking at his installation as interim commander general, Álvarez said he was assuming the post with “great humility” and “absolute responsibility and commitment to work.” He said his appointment respected institutional rules, seniority and merit within the police. Álvarez has 31 years of service.

He made internal corruption a central focus of his speech. Álvarez said the police faced a “new institutional paradigm” and promised to create stronger control mechanisms to improve transparency and public service. “We will work hard under this new institutional paradigm of an all-out fight against corruption, and we will create new and stronger mechanisms to make controls more effective so we can provide better service to our community,” he said.

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Great humility

The change in leadership follows the recent departure of Gen. Mirko Sokol Saravia, who left the national command amid a prosecutorial investigation linked to alleged audio recordings referring to possible irregularities within the police.

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Absolute responsibility and commitment to work

Álvarez also promised an offensive against criminal organizations operating in Bolivia. “We will not allow our country to be used by these organizations,” he said, pledging work that would be “strategic and organized” and focused on results. He said the police would listen both to its more than 38,000 officers and to the public’s security demands, describing the approach as “listening inside and listening outside.”

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We will not allow our country to be used by these organizations.