The Minister of Government, Carlos del Castillo, reported that Áñez "is in the hands of the Police". | Photo: Detrás de la Verdad

La Paz, March 13 (RHC)-- The former de facto president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, was arrested early Saturday morning for her links to the coup d'état committed against former president Evo Morales in 2019, reported the Minister of Government, Carlos del Castillo.

"I inform the Bolivian people that Mrs. Jeanine Añez has already been apprehended and at this moment is in the hands of the Police," said the Bolivian official in a message on his Twitter social network account.

In another tweet, Del Castillo congratulated "the great work of our General Command of the Bolivian Police, the National Intelligence Directorate and the Special Forces to Combat Drug Trafficking in this great and historic task of giving justice to the Bolivian people."

On Friday, the police reported that the former de facto ministers of Justice, Álvaro Coímbra, and of Energy, Álvaro Guzmán, were also apprehended in the Amazonian region of Beni.

The Departmental Prosecutor's Office of La Paz, Bolivia, issued on Friday an arrest warrant against the former de facto president and several of her ministers accused of the crimes of "terrorism, sedition and conspiracy."

Also wanted are the former commander of the Police, Colonel Yuri Calderón, and the former commander of the Armed Forces, General Williams Kaliman Romero, among others.

After winning the October 2019 elections, Evo Morales was the victim of a coup d'état in November of that year, which forced him to leave the country into exile, first in Mexico and then in Argentina.

Añez, who at the time was the former second vice-president of the Senate, proclaimed herself interim president of Bolivia in a legislative session that did not have a quorum.  She swore herself in on a Bible, held by a uniformed Army officer.

One year later, the South American country held general elections which were won by current president Luis Arce, of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), a party led by Evo Morales, who was thus able to return from exile.

Áñez described her arrest as persecution by the Arce government.  "I denounce before Bolivia and the world, that in an act of abuse and political persecution the MAS government has had me arrested.  It accuses me of having participated in a coup d'état that never happened.  My prayers for Bolivia and for all Bolivians," tweeted the former coup president.