October 8, 2022, 10:10 PM
October 8, 2022, 10:10 PM
Colonel Miguel Santiesteban Stroebel, who was commander of the Challapata Satinadores in 2019, was sent to the San Pedro prison in La Pazfor a period of six months accused of genocide, homicide and serious and minor injuries in the events of the Senkata deaths.
“Without considering all the arguments that the defense has presented, the judge has illegally ordered preventive detention for six months Colonel Miguel Eduardo Santiesteban. This measure has been appealed by the defense and by the accusing party in the same procedural act”, said the lawyer Jorge Valda, who attended the hearing.
Last Wednesday the authorities apprehended Santiesteban and they took him to the Felcc of the city of La Paz, but his precautionary hearing could not be installed due to lack of internet connection and only this Saturday the substitute judge, Ángel Mendoza, determined the prison of the former commander of the Satinadores.
On November 19, 2019 the citizens of El Alto caused the fall of the perimeter wall of the Senkata hydrocarbon plant, in the city of El Alto, this fact caused the response of the uniformed men who were guarding that site and opened fire against the demonstrators. There were ten dead and 31 wounded in that skirmish and the government at the time said that the rioters fired at each other.
Santiesteban Stroebel at that time had the rank of major and commanded the group of Satinadores that arrived from his base in Challapata, Oruro. This patrol, according to investigations was mobilized by order of the Army General Command and was installed in the Max Toledo Mechanized Regiment since November 16, 2019. The military unit is located in the town of Viacha.
It was made up of 54 instructors between officers (captains, lieutenants and second lieutenants) non-commissioned officers and sergeants. In the first instance they were transferred to the town of Viacha and then they were taken to Senkata. Instead, the 90 soldiers from Sanandita were housed in the Ingavi regiment, in the city of El Alto, who also participated in the events of 2019.
For this case they are prosecuted, the former commander of the Navy Admiral, Moisés Orlando Mejía; Generals Iván Inchauste Rioja, former Commander of the Army; Franko Suárez Gonzales, commander of the 1st Mechanized Division; Pablo Guerra Camacho, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces; Francisco Orlando Suarez Gonzales and Luis Fernando Velarde.
Colonel Julio Tamayo Rivera, deputy chief of operations of the Command in Chief of the Armed Forces, also appears. According to the statements of the representative of the Senkata victims, so far there are 10 former military chiefs prosecuted in this case.
Colonel Fernando Irrazabal Guzmán was also apprehended on Friday.accused of the same crimes, homicide, genocide and serious and minor injuries for the events in Senkata in 2019. He is another commander of special units since he is the one who commanded the group of Satinadores de Sanandita and like those of Challapata they were mobilized by direct order of the Army General Command.
That unit was composed of 90 men who were also armed and were housed in the Ingavi regiment which is close to the Senkata plant. Lawyer Valda said that there are reports from the Army itself about how the weapons were returned because all the material was inventoried.
Thus, the former satin boss was apprehended on Friday and the precautionary hearing remains to be known.
