The “Bolivarian joint criminal enterprise,” initially led by Hugo Chávez and later by his successor Nicolás Maduro, allegedly operates in Bolivia through the “MAS criminal organization.” This group engages in illicit activities such as drug trafficking and narco-terrorism—collaborating with the Cartel de Los Soles and the Cartel de las Estrellas—systemic corruption, bribery, and election fraud assisted by Venezuela and Cuba, alongside extensive human rights violations like torture, kidnapping, wrongful imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings.
This claim is asserted in a legal suit alleging a vast international criminal and terrorist conspiracy centered around the Bolivian regime, particularly under Evo Morales Ayma and Luis Arce Catacora, identified as the potential MAS Criminal Enterprise.
Moreover, the lawsuit accuses the U.S. Department of Justice of negligence for not investigating these violations or releasing FOIA information, which allegedly enabled abuses and harmed thousands of victims, including a protected witness in Miami.
The MAS Criminal Organization
In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a lawsuit has been filed by “John Doe”—a name representative of a human rights organization and 1,000 victims—who accuses high-ranking Bolivian government officials, specifically members of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) like Evo Morales Ayma and Luis Arce Catacora, of operating a vast transnational criminal enterprise.
The lawsuit claims that this organization, referred to as the “potential MAS Criminal Enterprise,” is involved in narco-terrorism, systematic election fraud, severe human rights violations, and large-scale corruption, with operations extending into U.S. territory.
The legal action also targets high-ranking officials from U.S. agencies for negligence in failing to investigate or act on multiple allegations presented, violating laws such as the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Key Points of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit seeks compensation for victims, the designation of MAS as a criminal and terrorist organization, and demands that U.S. agencies investigate and penalize those responsible under laws such as RICO, the Global Magnitsky Act, and the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Key points of the lawsuit include:
Joint Criminal Enterprise:
It is alleged that MAS is part of the “Bolivarian joint criminal enterprise,” a transnational network initiated by Hugo Chávez, which uses state enterprises like PDVSA to launder money, fund illegal activities, and sustain allied regimes in Bolivia, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
Narco-Terrorism:
The lawsuit accuses the Morales and Arce regimes of collaborating with Venezuela’s “Cartel de los Soles” and Colombia’s FARC, creating a “Cartel de las Estrellas” in Bolivia, with the aim not only of enriching themselves but also of using cocaine as a weapon against the U.S.
Perpetual Election Fraud:
A systematic election fraud scheme, financed and orchestrated by Venezuela since 2006, is detailed. This includes interventions in the digitization of identity documents and the creation of an inflated biometric voter registry with up to 2 million “phantom voters,” ensuring the MAS “never loses an election,” as described by a former electoral official.
Human Rights Violations:
Extensive violations are documented, including the arbitrary detention and false imprisonment of more than 300 political opponents under the pretext of a “coup” in 2019, as well as torture, judicial persecution, and extrajudicial killings. The suspicious death of a protected witness in Miami, Florida, after receiving threats from Arce Catacora’s regime, is particularly highlighted.
Corruption and Money Laundering:
The allegations reveal multiple corruption schemes, including bribes from companies like Odebrecht and a presumed family bribery scheme involving former President Arce via the state oil company YPFB and the intermediary Botrading. The lawsuit also accuses them of laundering billions of dollars through banks in Panama, the Vatican, and real estate in South Florida.
Legal Foundations of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit primarily targets high-ranking officials from five federal agencies in the United States in their official capacity:
Department of State: Marco Rubio
Department of Justice: Pam Bondi
Department of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem
Department of the Treasury: Scott Bessent
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Kash Patel
The lawsuit is based on alleged negligence and omission of these agencies for not investigating or acting upon the information provided by the plaintiffs since 2023. “John Doe” claims that this inaction allowed the continuation of severe crimes in Bolivia and U.S. territory.
The lawsuit is grounded in a broad framework of U.S. law, which includes:
Invoked law – Purpose in the lawsuit
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) – Accuses DOJ of refusing to provide requested records about Bolivian officials involved in drug trafficking and corruption.
Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) – Allows lawsuits against the U.S. government for negligence that contributed to human rights violations in Bolivia.
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) – Used to argue that MAS operates as a “criminal enterprise” involved in illicit activities like drug trafficking, extortion, and money laundering.
Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) – Allows U.S. citizens to sue for damages caused by international terrorism acts, alleging that MAS’ drug trafficking and threats constitute such acts.
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) – Seeks compensation for victims of torture and extrajudicial killings committed by Bolivian regime officials.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) – Justifies the need to investigate bribery schemes involving Bolivian officials for contracts and commercial advantages.
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act – Invoked to seek sanctions against Bolivian officials responsible for severe human rights violations and corruption.
Transnational Links of the “MAS Criminal Organization”
A central theme of the lawsuit is the characterization of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) not as a legitimate political party but as a “potential criminal enterprise” integrated into a broader criminal network.
The Bolivarian Joint Criminal Enterprise
The lawsuit places MAS within the Bolivarian joint criminal enterprise, a structure identified in investigations as a global network originally directed by Hugo Chávez and continued by Nicolás Maduro.
The Bolivarian joint criminal enterprise uses a network of shell companies and tax havens to launder money, traffic drugs and gold, and finance allied regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Suriname, and El Salvador.
The Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is described as the main financial instrument of the Bolivarian joint criminal enterprise, similar to Odebrecht’s role in Brazil, channeling illicit funds through fictitious oil sales, fraudulent loans, and large-scale infrastructure projects.
It is alleged that the Morales and Arce governments replicated this model, using the state company YPFB to overpay for oil purchases through intermediaries like Botrading in Paraguay, supposedly linked to a son of Luis Arce, as well as companies like VITOL and TRAFIGURA, with histories of corruption.
Collaboration with Narco-Terrorism: FARC and the “Cartel de los Soles”
The lawsuit details a strategic alliance between the MAS regime, Colombia’s FARC, and Venezuela’s “Cartel de los Soles.”
It is alleged that high-ranking Bolivian officials, under Evo Morales’ leadership, formed their own cartel, called “Cartel de las Estrellas.” This group, together with the “Cartel de los Soles,” has allegedly utilized Bolivian state institutions (military, police, judiciary) to facilitate drug trafficking.
The goal of this alliance was not merely economic; it also prioritized using cocaine “as a weapon against America,” seeking to “flood” the U.S. with the drug to cause social harm.
The MAS regime allegedly provided material support to FARC, such as safe haven and access to state corporations and banks to launder narcoterrorism profits. In return, FARC reportedly trained MAS paramilitary militias (the “Blue Warriors”) and provided logistical support.
Morales’ expulsion of the DEA from Bolivia in 2008 is portrayed as a deliberate action to make the country a more attractive and secure route for drug trafficking.
Systemic Election Fraud Funded by Venezuela
The lawsuit claims that MAS’ control over power is based on a perpetual election fraud apparatus designed and implemented with Venezuela’s economic and logistical support since 2006.
The complaint states that, in 2006, Chávez’s government directly intervened in the digitization of identity cards in Bolivia, a process involving the Director of Technology of the Venezuelan Presidency and the Director of Identification from that country. This process, conducted at night, was alleged to be the first step in manipulating identity databases.
It adds that in 2009, with Venezuelan funding and the involvement of Smartmatic, a new biometric voter registry was created. In just 6 weeks, the number of registered voters increased by 94%, from 2.6 million to 5.08 million. A study titled “The Dance of Numbers” labeled this growth abnormal and laid the groundwork for “election fraud engineering.”
This process is estimated to have generated between 1.5 and 2 million “phantom voters,” a surplus that enables MAS to manipulate electoral outcomes.
The lawsuit reiterates the conclusions of the OAS audit on the 2019 elections, which found deliberate manipulation, including the diversion of data to hidden servers, forgery of records, and a statistically improbable trend in the final count.
Despite the OAS recommending 57 corrective measures, the 2020 elections were held with the same corrupt electoral apparatus, the same personnel, and without implementing reforms.
The resignation of electoral tribunal member Rosario Baptista, who claimed the electoral system is “hijacked by external interests” and designed so that the ruling party “never loses an election,” is also cited.
Human Rights Violations and Political Repression
The lawsuit alleges a systematic pattern of human rights violations to suppress dissent and maintain authoritarian control.
It states that over 300 individuals, including military personnel, civic leaders, and citizens, were imprisoned under accusations of participating in a “coup” in 2019, which the lawsuit characterizes as “false imprisonment” as retaliation for protesting against Morales’ election fraud.
Morales is accused of ordering an operation that resulted in the execution of three foreign citizens, allegedly to create a false terrorism case and justify the persecution of opponents in Santa Cruz.
It is claimed Morales ordered the murder of his pilot, General Germán Valenzuela Lemaitre, in 2011, after he refused to continue transporting cocaine on Bolivian Air Force planes and contacted the DEA.
Furthermore, Morales’ regime is accused of orchestrating a massacre in 2009 to implicate and arrest Leopoldo Fernández, an opposition prefect.
Torture acts against members of groups like “Cochala Youth Resistance” and the deaths of figures who denounced corruption, such as Marco Antonio Aramayo (former director of the Indigenous Fund) and José María Bakovic (former president of the National Road Service), who died while facing numerous legal processes, are also highlighted.
In addition, a key allegation in the lawsuit is the death in “unclear circumstances” in Miami of a protected witness in a bribery case against the Arce government. The witness had filmed a video a week before his death, referring to threats from Justice Minister Iván Lima as his “death sentence.” This is argued to be evidence of the “long arm” of the criminal organization.
Corruption, Bribery, and Money Laundering
The lawsuit describes multiple corruption schemes used to plunder the Bolivian treasury and enrich the members of the “criminal enterprise.”
It is alleged that Evo Morales’ presidential campaign in 2006 was financed with a $100 million bribe from Odebrecht S.A.
Luis Arce Catacora is accused of placing family members in high positions within strategic state companies (ENTEL, YPFB) to facilitate corruption schemes. Allegations detail the purchase of properties worth $5.47 million by his son, Rafael Arce Mosqueira, and his involvement with the intermediary company Botrading, which allegedly charged inflated fees to YPFB.
Between 2007 and 2011, the “Bolivia Changes, Evo Fulfils” program channeled $50 million from Venezuela. Of this, at least $16 million was used to buy media outlets like La Razón and ATB to ensure a favorable editorial line towards the government.
A complaint cites accounts in the Vatican Bank belonging to Evo Morales (€244.25 million), Álvaro García Linera (€16.15 million), and Gabriela Zapata (€135 million).
It is alleged that in his flight in 2019, Evo Morales loaded two armored trucks with money and gold from the Central Bank onto a Mexican Air Force plane, which allegedly made a stop in Paraguay where the contents were unloaded.
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