Mayor of Luribay, Bolivia jailed pending trial over alleged embezzlement of 189,000 bolivianos in municipal funds

On February 17, 2025, Bolivia's Seventh Criminal Instruction Court in La Paz ordered Mario Cáceres Calle, mayor of the municipality of Luribay, held in two months' pretrial detention at Patacamaya prison on charges of peculado (embezzlement) and malversación (misappropriation of funds), over an alleged diversion of approximately 189,000 bolivianos (about $27,000) in municipal resources. Prosecutors allege the funds were used to pay a personal debt owed by Cáceres's private construction company; he had previously been jailed in 2023 for failing to pay legally required severance to four employees of that same company.