In a move that has reignited Bolivia’s deep political divisions, a court on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, ordered the release of Luis Fernando Camacho—the high-profile governor of Santa Cruz and a central figure in the country’s right-wing opposition—from pretrial detention to house arrest. Camacho’s transfer comes after two years and eight months in jail without a formal conviction, a period that far surpassed the six-month legal limit for pretrial detention in Bolivia. The decision has drawn both jubilant celebration and fierce protest, reflecting the country’s enduring polarization since the tumultuous events of 2019.
Camacho, who leads the far-right Christian coalition Creemos (Spanish for “We Believe”), was taken into custody in December 2022 on charges stemming from two major episodes: the 2019 political crisis that forced socialist President Evo Morales into exile, and a 36-day strike in Santa Cruz in 2022 that paralyzed Bolivia’s most populous and economically vital region. The charges against him include terrorism, sedition, criminal association, and illegal use of public property—serious accusations that have kept him under the scrutiny of both the judiciary and political adversaries.
According to AP, the Wednesday court order was the second in as many days, with judges in both of Camacho’s principal cases determining that his continued detention exceeded the legal maximum. The Supreme Court of Justice had intervened just a week earlier, instructing all judges to review the legality of pretrial detention in several high-profile cases, including those of Camacho, former interim President Jeanine Añez, and opposition leader Marco Antonio Pumari. The court’s rare move followed mounting criticism over the prolonged incarceration of political figures without trial, with many legal experts and human rights advocates decrying the practice as a violation of due process.
"The judicial authority has ordered the end of preventive detention against Governor Luis Fernando Camacho and has replaced it with precautionary measures, including house arrest," Camacho’s lawyer, Martin Camacho, confirmed on Wednesday, as reported by La Nacion. Under the terms of his release, Camacho will be allowed to resume his political duties as governor under work-release provisions. His lawyer expects him to return to Santa Cruz—Bolivia’s affluent opposition stronghold—by Friday, August 29, 2025.
For Camacho’s supporters, the ruling marks a long-awaited victory. Crowds erupted in cheers in central Santa Cruz as news of his impending release broke, with many describing the move as a first step toward restoring the rule of law. Camacho himself declared, "This is the first step towards freedom. The elected representatives of justice today begin to restore the rule of law." Revelers, some of whom had traveled for hours to witness the moment, tried to touch and take selfies with the governor as he emerged from court in handcuffs and his governor’s sash, according to AP.
But outside the courthouse in La Paz, the scene was starkly different. Protesters, many of them relatives of victims from the 2019 unrest, chanted, "Justice for the victims" and "Without justice there is no democracy." They blame Camacho for inciting the violence that followed Morales’s ouster, violence that left at least 37 people dead. Gloria Quisbert, a representative of the victims, told local television, "Justice must be impartial, whoever must pay, must pay, but justice has to be done." She condemned the recent dismissal of the trial against Añez, saying it brought "new pain" to the families of those killed in the crisis.
The roots of the controversy trace back to the chaotic aftermath of the 2019 general election. Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president and a figurehead of the left-wing Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, sought a fourth term in a contest marred by allegations of fraud. Camacho, then a rising figure within the Santa Cruz business elite and a leader of the Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee, emerged as a key organizer of mass protests. He famously delivered a resignation letter to the presidential palace, Bible in hand, after Morales resigned under military pressure and fled into exile—a moment that his critics liken to a coup and his supporters hail as a defense of democracy.
Camacho’s legal troubles did not end with Morales’s departure. In 2022, after MAS’s Luis Arce took office, Camacho led a 36-day strike in Santa Cruz to protest the government’s decision to delay a national census, a move that many in the region believed would reduce their political representation. The strike saw widespread road blockades, fires, and clashes with law enforcement. The government ombudsman reported dozens of human rights abuses, including sexual assault and murder. Prosecutors have accused Camacho of complicity in the unrest and charged him accordingly.
Despite the severity of the allegations, Camacho was never tried. Each time his legal detention period expired, prosecutors extended his jailing—a tactic widely criticized within Bolivia’s legal community. Only after the Supreme Court’s recent intervention did judges move to address the legality of his continued incarceration.
The timing of Camacho’s release is politically charged. The August 17, 2025, general election marked a dramatic shift in Bolivia’s political landscape, with the MAS party’s left-wing candidates knocked out of contention for the first time in nearly two decades. Instead, centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz and right-wing former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga advanced to a runoff set for October 19, 2025. Both have campaigned on promises of judicial reform and national reconciliation.
Quiroga, in particular, has been vocal in his support for the release of imprisoned opposition figures. On his Facebook page, he wrote, "Justice cannot be an instrument of revenge. It must be the pillar of a free and democratic Bolivia. I salute the release of Luis Fernando Camacho and Marco Pumari, so they can pursue their defence in freedom. Let’s move forward, and remember that when there’s justice, there’s hope for all." The court also ordered the release of Pumari, Camacho’s former running mate, who had been detained since 2021 for his role in the 2019 crisis.
Yet for many in La Paz and among Morales’s supporters, the release of Camacho and other opposition leaders is seen as a setback for justice. They argue that the judiciary, long accused of being swayed by political pressure, is now bending to the will of the ascendant right. The scars of the 2019 crisis—when Bolivia teetered on the brink of chaos, and families lost loved ones to violence—remain fresh for many. "Without justice, there is no democracy," echoed the chants outside the courthouse.
Camacho’s future remains uncertain. His transfer to house arrest does not amount to acquittal; he still faces trial in the two main cases and remains under investigation in others. But as Bolivia stands at a political crossroads, with the right poised to return to power and the left regrouping after a historic defeat, the fate of Camacho—and the question of how justice is served—will continue to shape the nation’s path forward.