July 23, 2023, 4:05 AM
July 23, 2023, 4:05 AM
Cocalero César Apaza suffered an embolism that has paralyzed half of his body. Due to his state of health, he was transferred from Chonchocoro to the San Pedro prison a month ago. His sister Miriam denounced that the Penitentiary Regime abandoned him with medical attention and did not even start the indicated physiotherapy since his arrival at this prison on June 23.
The director of the Penitentiary Regime, Juan Carlos Limpias, in contact with this medium, assured that the prison doctors are attentive to his health 24 hours a day, but admitted that physiotherapy is still in process.
Miriam Apaza, in an interview she gave to the program Qué semana, from EL DEBER Radio, denounced that when she was in Chonchocoro “she was attended by three specialists. They said that my brother was delicate. That is why the Penitentiary Regime took it into account and transferred him to San Pedro. I thought that he was going to receive a little more attention, that they were going to take him out to do the exams that he needed, that he was going to receive physiotherapy, but he is more abandoned than ever, ”said the family member.
In addition, he added that those who care for his brother “are not doctors, they are nurses. When César had a crisis, I asked them to please do something. But, they left him in control of vital signs and that’s it. I suppose that this report should be given to Mr. Limpias, and that is why nothing can be done, because for them it is normal that one is about to die, ”he said.
For his part, Limpias responded that “César Apaza received medical attention at all times. What is being processed, just on Friday I spoke with him, is that we are going to request the Hospital de Clínicas to send a physiotherapist”.
He complemented that in that conversation, “Mr. Apaza accepted that he be a physiotherapist of that hospital or anywhere else. There in Chonchocoro he refused that service, ”he said.
Asked about the care he receives, he reported that there are doctors in the San Pedro prison “who control his health. He receives the normal treatment from him, and the doctor, periodically, comes to carry out the assessment ”.
Both the sister and the director of the Penitentiary Regime indicated that she has half of the body paralyzed. Both agreed that it is not specialized personnel who assist him, but rather a cellmate who helps him get up, go to the bathroom, and clean himself. With that coincident statement, they confirmed that he cannot fend for himself.
“There are improvements that Mr. Apaza is showing. That is why we are processing physiotherapy so that from now on, this procedure will help you regain full control of your movements,” Limpias said.
In the last week, Apaza released a letter from his cell in which he accused his fellow cocaleros from Yungas of having exchanged their freedom and handing over the Departmental Association of Coca Producers (Adepcoca), of La Paz, to the Government.
“I am talking about the leaders of Adepcoca, who in an act of treason and cowardice have exchanged my freedom for their own, handing over our beloved organization to the Government. I can’t help but feel a deep pain and a sense of abandonment seeing how those we trust to lead our struggle have given up and have put aside the well-being of all the coca growers of the Yungas,” he lamented.
In contact with the radio program, His sister confirmed this complaint and pointed out that no matter what condition he is in, “My brother is never going to plead guilty in exchange for his freedom. They have gone to jail, and they have proposed that with the offer of giving him his freedom. That’s not going to happen,” he said.
On June 1, the Ombudsman’s Office, through a report, established that the Cocalero leader Apaza suffered “cruel and degrading treatment” during his arrest on September 22, 2022. In this sense, the state entity requested that the prosecutor in the case, Carmelo Laura Yujra, be prosecuted due to his alleged negligence in not investigating the allegations of torture by the leader. On that occasion, Apaza was intercepted by plainclothes policemen, detained and cruelly beaten.
