Carlos Quisbert / La Paz
Authorities of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) took the controversy over the traffic of undocumented cars, which splashes police officers, into the political arena. Official legislators disqualified the Chilean investigators who uncovered the case, while closing ranks around supporters accused of having stolen motorized vehicles in their possession.
Leonardo Loza, masista senator and coca grower leader from Chapare, denied that there is a “lawless” locality called “Mexico Chico” in that sector, where cars stolen in Chile are sold.
“I am sorry that some bad Chileans, false Chileans, come to talk to us about things they do not know, under their conception of ignorance, there is no small Mexico. Anyone can enter the tropics or any part of Bolivia freely,” Senator Loza said yesterday.
A few days ago, deputy Héctor Arce, from MAS, described the group of Chileans who uncovered the case as mercenaries. “I consider that they are a kind of mercenaries who have entered the country irregularly, have operated irregularly in the country,” he told the media.
mexico boy
The legislators were referring to the complaint made by the Chilean investigator Hugo Bustos, representative of the NGO Grupo Search for Vehicles (GBV), who is dedicated to the recovery of stolen motorized vehicles and who mentioned on Thursday that, in the Chapare there is a locality ” without law” which they call small Mexico. He said that part of the stolen motorcycles in his country is concentrated in that sector, in addition to drug trafficking activity.
“You cannot enter that place called Mexico boy because it is dangerous, the police do not go either, the authorities do not enter. Ask people what Mexico is like, boy, the police will not go there to carry out an operation,” Bustos said.
stolen cars
In the midst of the controversy over this case, in which several police officers were implicated, in Tarija the discovery of a vehicle allegedly stolen in Argentina and that was in the possession of Councilor Vania Sánchez, by the MAS, was reported in the municipality of Yacuiba, Tarija.
The aforementioned said that the motorcycle was not in her name and pointed to the press for allegedly damaging her image by spreading the information. “This vehicle is not my property, although I have been seen driving it. This one was loaned to me by my co-workers at the Council,” Sánchez said.
“I want to clarify the versions that, in an uninformed, ill-intentioned way, have indicated that I was the owner of this vehicle and that it was even reported as stolen in Argentina, which is totally false,” he said.
However, the mayor did not clarify who the motorcycle belonged to and the reason why it was seized by the Police.
Another MAS authority implicated in stolen cars is deputy Israel Huaytari, for the MAS, in Potosí, who, according to his own Facebook posts, gave a Macha social movement a truck reported stolen in Chile. So far neither the Police nor the legislators have spoken to clarify the complaint.
In Chile, yesterday the rescue of five vans reported as stolen in that country was reported. They were hidden in a ravine in the Baquedano region, bordering Bolivia. The taillights were covered so as not to be seen at night.
90% authorities
- Investigator According to data from the NGO Grupo Search for Vehicles, from Chile, “90% (of stolen motorized vehicles) are held by the police, the military (from Bolivia), some from Customs, some who are politicians; and the other small remainder, which is 10%, are people who buy these vehicles as ‘chutos’”, said their presenter, researcher Hugo Bustos.
