The former president of Bolivia Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada is sentenced to six years and three months in prison for the “Petrocontratos” case

( Spanish) – The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) sentenced the former president of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, to six years and three months in prison for a case of illegal signing of contracts with oil companies, known as the “Petrocontratos” case, during his second term (2002 and 2003), the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Bolivia reported this Tuesday through a statement posted on your X account.

According to the TSJ, prosecutors verified that 107 “risk contracts” were approved without previously being sent to Congress for legislative approval, as established by the regulations in force at that time.

In addition, three former ministers of the Sánchez de Lozada Government, Jorge Joaquín Berindoague Alcocer, Carlos Alberto Contreras del Solar and Carlos Alberto López Quiroga, were also sentenced to five years in prison, according to the statement.

Both the former president and his former ministers were convicted “for the crimes of breach of duties and uneconomic conduct, in addition to being disqualified for the same period from holding public office, as well as the payment of fines and costs in favor of the State.”

attempted to contact Sánchez de Lozada’s legal team and his former ministers after the ruling was published.

Sánchez de Lozada has resided in the United States since 2003 after his resignation from the presidency of Bolivia. The former president has Bolivian and American nationalities. The Bolivian government has requested the extradition of the former president, but Washington has not approved it, according to reports from the AP agency.

Sánchez de Lozada was president of Bolivia on two occasions: between 1993 and 1997 and after August 2002 until his resignation on October 17, 2003. The former president is 94 years old.