Bolivian President Abolishes Ministry of Justice Hours After Dismissal of Its Minister

SadaNews - President of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, dismissed the Minister of Justice in his government on Thursday-Friday, only to later abolish the entire ministry after it was revealed that the minister, who had taken office two weeks earlier, was sentenced to three years in prison.

The dismissed minister and former lawyer, Freddy Vidovich, did not disclose the ruling against him regarding a three-year prison sentence in 2015 for bribery and aiding a currently imprisoned businessman in his attempt to escape corruption charges.

With the revelation of Vidovich's past, President Rodrigo Paz quickly replaced him with Jorge Franz Garcia in a decree published on Thursday.

However, later that day, the president announced that he also decided to abolish the Ministry of Justice, leaving Garcia's fate uncertain.

Paz reminded that he had pledged during his electoral campaign to close the Ministry of Justice, which he claimed had been abused by his leftist opponents for decades.

He said, "Today, I am keeping my promise (...) the Ministry of oppression has ended, the Ministry of injustice has ended."

The government did not clarify whether Vidovich had served his sentence at that time, but indicated that the criminal ruling prevents him from holding public office.