Bolivia arrests ex-judge on suspicion of drug trafficking

LA PAZ: A former senior judge in Bolivia who was blacklisted by the United States was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of drug trafficking, officials said.

Since September, a number of senior officials in Bolivia's justice system have been arrested on suspicion of having links to drug cartels, including former attorney general Roger Mariaca.

The judge arrested on Wednesday, Aldo Quezada, resigned last month as chief justice of a Santa Cruz provincial court after being named to a US sanctions list over alleged links to drug trafficking.

The United States cancelled Quezada's visa, along with those of officials in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, for the same reason.

Quezada was arrested at his home in Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia. Police carrying automatic weapons surrounded the residence.

The former judge was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and criminal association, prosecutor Marcelo Inchausti said outside the home.

Bolivia's centre-right president Rodrigo Paz is seeking closer ties with the United States and has signed his country up to US President Donald Trump's "Shield of the Americas", a loosely defined alliance to fight drug cartels.