Bolivia: Arrest Warrant Against Repsol-YPF Rep.. Spain Not Happy

Bolivian authorities issued the equivalent of a warrant to capture Spanish-Argentinian multi-nationals head of Bolivian operations, Julio Gavito, for alleged contrband of 230,000 barrels of crude in the past two years. The investiation has been going on for the past six months, with the allegations widely used in the campaign.

The Spanish government has said it is "worried" about the situation, that it does not"contribute" to Spanish-Bolivian relations.


stories in Spanish, here and here.

La justicia boliviana lanzó ayer una orden de búsqueda y captura del representante de la compañía petrolera Repsol-YPF en el país, Julio Gavito, por presunto contrabando de 230.000 barriles de crudo entre junio de 2004 y junio de 2005, según publican páginas de Internet.

A couple of important things to remember.
In the U.S. adversarial system, police and prosecution investigate cases, bring charges, arrest suspects, and prosecute the case. They must petition judges to do such things as conduct searches and hold suspects. Defendants, conversely, have the right to counsel, and can challenge arrest warrants, searches, and charges at any stage. But Civil Code countries like Bolivia, judges do a lot of the initial. Once directed to do so by the government or congress, the Judges conduct the investigation, and have the defendants arrested and brought before them for questioning.

Ironically....
While Morales and the anti-globaloney tipes whined repeatedly about the American Multi-nationals and Bush,"evil" effects on Bolivia. it is actually Socialist governments in Brazil and Spain, that have been actively been trying to influence Bolivian policies on behalf of their multi-nationals.