Bolivia’s police chief resigns amid controversy after completing his “cycle”

Bolivia’s police chief Mirko Sokol resigned after declaring that his “cycle” at the head of the institution had ended, closing a tenure marked by both praise from the government and repeated controversy.

Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said Sokol had completed an important stage “brilliantly” and honestly while helping institutionalize the police. President Rodrigo Paz accepted the resignation, and the executive planned to appoint a successor during the day.

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This stage has been very important, very interesting, he has completed a cycle and has done so brilliantly, honestly and with the institutionalization of the police.

Sokol took command on Nov. 28 with a promise of zero tolerance for corruption. He was also expected to change the police force’s image, depoliticize it and restore state authority in parts of Bolivia where the institution could not enter.

The most prominent operation during his tenure was the capture of Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset. Authorities said Bolivian police carried out the operation alone on March 13 before sending Marset to the United States, where he remains detained.

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Not a priority

His time in office also produced allegations and clashes. An audio recording circulated in July allegedly revealed that senior officers had collected $2 million to manipulate promotions and the succession of police leadership. A second recording allegedly captured Sokol calling Oviedo “ridiculous.” Sokol said both recordings had been manipulated, edited and taken out of context. Vice President Edmand Lara later filed a criminal complaint against him over the first recording, alleging influence peddling, passive bribery and failure to report a crime, among other offenses.

In early August, Sokol also said the arrest of former President Evo Morales was “not a priority,” despite two arrest warrants against Morales. Oviedo responded that the government considered detaining Morales a priority.

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A priority task for the government is to arrest Evo Morales.