Former president of Bolivia sentenced to more than 6 years in prison for oil fraud
▲ On the poster, former president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, who resides in the US.Photo Ap
AFP and Xinhua
La Jornada Newspaper
Wednesday, December 4, 2024, p. 24
Peace. The former president of Bolivia Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for signing a hundred oil contracts without parliamentary approval during his government, the Ministry of Justice reported yesterday, which he described as historical the sentence.
Sánchez de Lozada, who governed the country in the periods 1993-1997 and 2002-2003, was found guilty of the crimes of uneconomic behavior and breach of duties for Bolivian justice.
These crimes were committed by signing 107 contracts for the marketing, exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons without the authorization of the then Legislative Branch, in clear violation of the constitutional and legal regulations in force at the time of the events.the institution said in a statement.
The decision was made last night by the Supreme Court of Justice after seven hours of deliberation, the Ministry reported.
Along with Sánchez de Lozada, the former Ministers of Hydrocarbons Jorge Berindoague and Carlos Alberto Contreras, as well as Carlos Alberto López, former Vice Minister of the same sector, were sentenced to five years in prison.
The then-current Constitution required that all hydrocarbon contracts be approved by the Bolivian Congress, but They were never sentsaid César Siles, Minister of Justice, at a press conference.
That is why we are celebrating a historic convictionhe added.
The beginning of the case known as Petrocontratos dates back to a complaint filed in 2005, which finally went to trial in August 2024.
Currently Sánchez de Lozada is 94 years old and resides in the United States.
The former president resigned the presidency and fled Bolivia in 2003 amid the gas wara period of social upheaval and protests that demanded the nationalization of this resource.
Clashes between civilians and police and military in the cities of La Paz and El Alto left at least 60 protesters dead and 400 injured.
“It is a sentence that the Bolivian people, the victims of the ‘gas war’ and the people of El Alto were waiting for,” commented Siles.
The resolution will also allow the collection of a civil reparatory action and extradition procedures.
The Ministry of Justice highlighted that former President Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) was also initially involved in the file.
However, the latter was excluded from the process due to the amnesty granted by Evo Morales in 2019, a decision that will always deserve historical questions.expressed the institution.
