Former Bolivian President Luis Arce was arrested this Wednesday in La Paz, just a month after leaving office, amid an investigation into alleged corruption that has shaken the country’s political landscape. According to official sources, the arrest took place in the Sopocachi neighborhood, and Arce was taken to facilities of the police anti-crime unit — the Special Force to Fight Crime (FELCC) — drawing significant national and international media attention.
His former Minister of the Presidency, Maria Nela Prada, denounced the incident as an “illegal kidnapping,” pointing to an arbitrary action by the authorities. It is worth recalling that since last Nov. 8, conservative Rodrigo Paz — winner of the October elections — has been serving as president of the South American country.
The charges against Arce — who also served as finance minister during two periods of Evo Morales’s presidency — are related to alleged irregularities in the management of public funds allocated to projects for Indigenous and rural communities.
During his tenure as minister of Economy, there may have been embezzlement of resources — channeled through the Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples (Fondioc) — which has prompted a formal investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Former president Luis Arce arrested in Bolivia for alleged corruption
According to official sources and reports from the local press in Bolivia, the operation was carried out discreetly: Arce was approached in Sopocachi and then taken in an SUV to the FELCC headquarters, where he was transferred to a police cell. Access to the area was closed to prevent the public or journalists from entering during the operation.
Former minister Prada, through a video released on social media, claimed that it was all a “kidnapping” and questioned the legality of the procedure. Her accusation did not provide details about a prior court order, which fuels the controversy over whether the arrest complied with the established legal protocols.
“I want to denounce before the Bolivian people and before the international community that just moments ago former president Luis Arce was kidnapped in Sopocachi, a neighborhood in the city of La Paz,” she said in a video posted on social media. Prada added that it was “a totally illegal kidnapping” and announced that she was heading to FELCC headquarters to learn the former president’s condition.
#Nuestramérica🌎🇧🇴¡¡¡URGENTE!!! Bolivia. La exministra María Nela Prada a través del medio informativo La Razón denunció el ‘secuestro’ del expresidente Luis Arce Catacora. Noticia en desarrollo pic.twitter.com/UdUgmrahbM
— PIA Global (@PIAnoticias) December 10, 2025
Without official reaction from Bolivian authorities
For their part, the authorities have not yet issued a public statement detailing the exact charges, the evidence, or Arce’s procedural situation. The investigation remains ongoing amid an atmosphere of uncertainty for both his defense and the public.
Arce’s arrest comes amid a context of deep political tension. Just days earlier, the government of the new president, Rodrigo Paz, had announced the opening of multiple criminal proceedings against former officials of the outgoing administration, including Arce himself, accusing them of corruption and abuse of power.
The decision made clear the new authorities’ intent to bring to justice what they consider a significant embezzlement of public funds. Furthermore, just two days after leaving office, Arce was expelled from the party that brought him to power, the Movement for Socialism (MAS), as a result of the corruption allegations against him.
The opening of the investigation into Fondioc — initiated during his tenure as minister of Economy — had remained dormant for years, but gained renewed relevance after the change of government. The current context highlights the internal divisions within MAS, as well as the new authorities’ firm intention to review the public management of the recent past.
The Fondioc scandal, a decade of suspected corruption
The scandal surrounding the Indigenous Native Peasant Development Fund (Fondioc) dates back more than a decade and remains one of the most controversial episodes in Bolivia’s public administration. Created to finance productive and community projects in rural areas, the fund ultimately became a symbol of mismanagement, irregularities, and alleged corruption.
Official audits and reports from the Comptroller’s Office detected hundreds of unfinished, nonexistent, or barely advanced projects, despite the fact that resources had been almost entirely disbursed. Investigations revealed a fragmented oversight scheme, a lack of technical supervision, and a chain of responsibility involving high-level officials and social leaders who benefited politically.
Amid this web of issues, the figure of Luis Arce has resurfaced in public debate following his arrest this Wednesday, Dec. 10. During the years when Fondioc operated with the greatest financial flow, Arce served as Minister of Economy and Finance, the office from which disbursements destined for the fund were authorized and released.
Although there is — so far — no formal accusation against Arce directly linking him to irregular management, critics and analysts argue that, as the official responsible for the state’s finances, Arce would have had at least administrative and political responsibility for the lack of oversight that allowed resources to be diverted or left without technical backing.
On several occasions, Arce has defended his administration, insisting that his role was limited to formal transfer procedures and that operational oversight fell to other branches of the executive.