Reuters/La Paz

Bolivian President Evo Morales appointed a new interior minister and named a new national police chief yesterday after a former advisor to Peru’s president who faces corruption charges escaped house arrest in La Paz over the weekend.
Martin Belaunde’s whereabouts were unknown yesterday, frustrating Morales who accepted the resignation of Hugo Moldiz as minister and named lawyer Carlos Romero in his place.
Prosecutors allege that Belaunde, who worked as Peruvian President Ollanta Humala’s campaign advisor during his failed 2006 presidential bid, belongs to a vast criminal network with links to public officials. He left Peru for Bolivia last year.
Morales blamed rogue police officers for Belaunde’s escape from his residence, where he was guarded by a police custody team, in the early hours of Sunday.
“I deeply regret the events that we live in at the moment that are the fault of some groups within the police,” Morales said. “I won’t allow some police units to tarnish Bolivia’s image.”
Shortly after Morales’ comments, Bolivia’s police boss Luis Enrique Cerruto stepped down. He was quickly replaced by Ramiro Tellez, head of special unit known as the Special Force to Fight Crime.
“Commander, your mission, with the team you have, is to find the whereabouts of this Peruvian man,” Morales said later.
Belaunde has denied the accusations of graft and unlawful association and said he is the victim of political persecution. He told Reuters earlier this month that he feared he would be killed if he returned to Lima.
A Bolivian court on May 11 authorised Belaunde’s extradition to Peru, where the corruption scandal has dented Humala’s popularity.
Belaunde’s lawyer said on Sunday he did not know if his client had escaped or been kidnapped.
It is the fifth ministerial post Romero has held since Morales assumed power in 2006. Romero previously served as interior minister from 2012 until mid-2014, when he stepped down in order to run for Senate late last year.