Former Bolivian President Luis Arce has been arrested on corruption charges just a month after he stepped down, DPA reported, BTA reported.
The news of his detention was announced by Vice President Edmond Lara. "Those who stole from this country will return everything and will answer to the courts," Lara said in a video message.
According to media reports, the arrest is related to allegations of embezzlement of funds from the Indigenous Peoples Fund between 2006 and 2014. At the time, Arce was economy minister in the left-wing government of President Evo Morales.
According to the prosecutor's office, which requested the former head of state's detention, and according to the arrest warrant published by local media, the charges include dereliction of duty and economic crimes related to the management of the fund.
Rodrigo Paz Pereira was sworn in as Arce's successor early last month. The change of power ended nearly two decades of left-wing governments in the South American country. Paz is a representative of the centrist Christian Democratic Party.