Rodrigo Paz tasks new police leadership with fighting ‘narcoterrorism’ in Bolivia

Bolivia’s new police commander, Adrián Álvarez, took office with a direct assignment from President Rodrigo Paz: confront “narcoterrorism” and other crimes that threaten families across the country.

Paz appointed Álvarez on Monday at a ceremony in La Paz’s former Government Palace. Roger Roca Saavedra became deputy commander general and chief of the police staff, while Franz Cabrera was named inspector general. The appointments came hours after Mirko Sokol resigned as commander.

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Bolivia needs a frontal and permanent fight against organized crime, drug trafficking and the narcoterrorism that stalks the nation.

Paz said Bolivia needed “a frontal and permanent fight” against organized crime, drug trafficking and “the narcoterrorism that stalks” the nation. He said the government could not allow criminal groups to impose their own rules or create areas where the law gives way to crime.

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Where there is crime, there must be the state, and that crime must be ended.

“Where there is crime, there must be the state, and that crime must be ended,” Paz said, adding that violence required authority and corruption required investigation and punishment. Álvarez said prevention would be among his first tasks in the fight against crime.

Sokol said he had completed his “cycle” as police chief. His tenure had drawn controversy, including remarks earlier in August that capturing former President Evo Morales was not a priority. The government later said detaining Morales was a priority. Sokol also faces an investigation over an audio recording that allegedly disclosed a group of senior officers had collected $2 million to manipulate promotions and the succession of police leadership.

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One of my first tasks will be prevention in the fight against crime.