Bolivia: Five soldiers were burned alive on the border with Argentina and they are investigating whether the attackers were a gang of traffickers

Five Bolivian soldiers were murdered when set on fire while taking part in an operation against a gang of traffickers on the border with Argentina. The crimes shocked the country. The authorities speak of an “ambush” and of the former president Evo Morales He asked for quick clarification on what happened.

Army second lieutenants Yamil Argani and José María Romero, together with sergeants Braulio Pacaje, Vladimir Pacasi and Ruddy Medoza, lost their lives in a cruel and violent way near Villamontessouth of Bolivia, about 90 kilometers from the border with Argentina.

The cruelty began when the truck in which the soldiers were traveling began to chase a vehicle loaded with illegal chemicals. In a merciless act, the truck crashed and overturned off the road, where he was trapped in a kind of ditch.

In the confusion caused by the impact, the attackers they disarmed the militarythey doused them with gasoline and they set it on fire. With infinite cruelty they abandoned the scene, leaving behind traces of petrol bottles.

Once on site, with the fait accompli, the first investigations analyzed the possibilities of a road accident. However, the deputy minister of anti-smuggling, Daniel Vargas, rejected this version and denounced it as a heinous crime.

The Minister of Defense, Edmundo Novillo, confirmed that the ambush and killing of the soldiers occurred following an anti-smuggling operationspecifying that the uniformed officers were attacked after seizing illegal goods.

In a message on social media, the former president Evo Morales He spoke out about what happened. There he expressed his condolences to the family and asked the authorities to quickly investigate and clarify the incident.

“It is reported that the possibility that they may have been victims of an attack while participating in intervention activities in the importation of illegal products into the country is being investigated,” he said.

And he continued: “We ask the authorities to quickly investigate and clarify this fact. In a rule of law we cannot accept contemplation and protection some to criminal organizations linked not only to smuggling, but also to drug trafficking.

Between January 1 and December 14 last year, the national customs seized illegal goods worth 670 million bolivianos (about $96.2 million) in 15,910 control operations carried out across the country.