Camacho arrest protests
Camacho arrest protests: The December 28 arrest of Santa Cruz’s governor (and ex-presidential candidate) Luis Fernando Camacho touched off immediate protests calling for his release in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the regional capital. Following a one-day airport takeover, members of Camacho’s Civic Movement alternated between daytime blockades and nighttime property destruction.
On New Year’s Day, national police fired a projectile—likely a tear gas canister—into the eye of a bystander, Edwin Chávez Durán. His wife and relatives report that he was not participating in the protests and was heading home when struck by a tear gas grenade (Red UNO 2023). Traces of gunpowder in the wound led to social media speculation of a gunshot, and police speculation that fireworks used by protesters may have caused his injuries. The impact caused his right eyeball to explode and Chávez was hospitalized on January 1st (La Razón 2023a). After receiving seven surgeries over the next two weeks, Chávez died from a heart attack while heading to a medical center with his sister to undergo a CT scan on Friday, January 13 (La Razón 2023a). According to his sister, he fainted while getting into her vehicle. Once they arrived at Caja Petrolera de Salud (CPS) for aid, Chávez died minutes later. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation measures were applied for 30 minutes but obtained no results. After an autopsy on Friday afternoon, his medical certificate of death issued by CPS indicated the cause of death as cardiogenic shock, acute myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism (La Razón 2023b).
After Chavez’s death was confirmed, Rómulo Calvo, president of the Santa Cruz Committee, claimed that Chavez was a victim of the central government and police repression. Deputy Minister of Citizen Security Roberto Ríos stated that Calvo’s remarks are an example of political actors shifting blame onto others despite being the ones inciting violent confrontations (La Razón 2023a). Ríos announced a formal investigation was initiated on January 4 regarding the physical assault of Chávez. However, since January 1st, Ríos added that investigative work and actions had been hindered by those close to Chávez. Furthermore, he also questioned that a critically ill patient was transported in a private vehicle to undergo an examination and not in an ambulance (La Razón 2023b).