The Bolivian police arrested former president Luis Alberto Arce Catacora on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, during an operation conducted in the Sopocachi neighborhood of La Paz.
Subsequently, he was transferred to the facilities of the Special Force Against Crime (FELCC) to initiate procedures related to an investigation for the alleged irregular use of public funds, according to reported by former Minister of the Presidency María Nela Prada.
Prada described the arrest as an “arbitrary measure”, stated that Arce was taken to police cells of the FELCC in La Paz, and claimed that the detention amounts to a “kidnapping” in a video shared on his social media.
According to the report from El Universal, the arrest is reportedly linked to the Indigenous Fund case, which is still “under investigation”. According to the same text, the Prosecutor's Office is processing several individuals for alleged embezzlement of funds intended for social works, which may have ended up in the personal accounts of officials.
The document adds that Arce was taken around 3:00 PM to a white van and driven to the offices of the anti-crime unit; it also states, citing police reports, that the former president did not resist and reacted "calmly."
The Vice President of Bolivia, Edmand Lara, had mentioned days earlier that legal actions would be initiated against Arce and other officials of his government for alleged corruption offenses and “the imprisonment of innocents,” and affirmed that Arce “will be held accountable for all the harm he has caused to the country.”
According to the same publication, Prada suggested that the arrest is related to the Indigenous Fund, a program that financed development activities in rural areas, from which—according to the report—6.8 million dollars were embezzled.
According to TeleSur, the Movement for Socialism (MAS) expelled Luis Arce from its ranks due to accusations of corruption and for "political 'betrayal' during the election process".
The president of MAS, Grover García, reported that the decision was made after several attempts by the party for Arce to regularize the financial contributions that belonged to the organization.
Luis Arce is a Bolivian economist and politician (born in La Paz) who was president of Bolivia from 2020 to 2025 and previously served as Minister of Economy and Public Finance during the governments of Evo Morales (2006–2017 and again in 2019, according to biographies and reviews).
The MAS, founded in 1997, was the main governing force since 2006 (with Evo Morales) and returned to power in 2020 with the victory of Luis Arce.
The recent victory of Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, from the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), elected as the new president with 54.61% of the votes, displaced MAS.
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