WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) released a joint statement on the democratic backsliding in Bolivia after the recent arrest of local governor and opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho.
“Bolivian President Luis Arce is facing a critical test of democratic leadership – whether to settle petty political vendettas on behalf of his predecessor or move his nation forward into the community of Latin American democracies. Absurdly locking up political opponents represents a dangerous display of authoritarianism and further erodes the already low confidence many Bolivians and the international community have in the country’s justice system. Bolivia cannot be a democracy if its opposition leaders compete in elections from behind bars. And regularly siding with Russian military aggression in votes at the United Nations only further tarnishes Bolivia’s democratic credibility,” said the senators.
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