Bolivia Arrests Ex-Judge Aldo Quezada Over Drug Suspicion
Bolivian authorities have arrested former senior judge Aldo Quezada on suspicion of drug trafficking, according to Al Jazeera. Prosecutor Marcelo Inchausti announced the arrest to reporters. Quezada was detained at his home in Santa Cruz, a city in eastern Bolivia, on suspicion of drug trafficking and criminal association, the term for taking part in a group formed to commit crimes.
Quezada resigned last month as chief justice of the Santa Cruz departmental court, a regional court in the city's jurisdiction. Before his arrest, he had been named to a United States visa restrictions list over alleged links to drug trafficking. Visa restrictions are measures that bar the people named on them from entering the United States.
The US has used the same policy elsewhere in the region. The United States cancelled visas of officials in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru under it. In September, the Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on twelve Bolivian nationals and their families.
Quezada's arrest follows a separate case involving a former head of Bolivia's public prosecution service. Former Attorney General Roger Mariaca was arrested on September 30 on suspicion of money laundering, which means moving illegally earned money through legitimate channels to disguise its origin, and drug trafficking. Police found bundles of cash smuggled out of Mariaca's house.
The two cases come under a new government. Rodrigo Paz took office as Bolivia's president on November 8, 2025, ending nearly 20 years of rule by the Movement for Socialism. Paz has also signed Bolivia up to Shield of the Americas, a security alliance for the Americas backed by the United States.
