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Legal Action
June 26
Ronald Mendez Alpire, LEGAL ACTION
Mendez Alpire, a journalist and author of three books on corruption in the Bank Supervisory Board, a federal regulatory agency, was sentenced to two years in prison for libel. The charges stemmed from Mendez Alpire's book Financial Puzzle, in which he alleged that a former bank regulator, Luis del Rio Chavez, was responsible for actions that led to two bank failures and cost the Bolivian treasury US$200 million. An official report by the controller general's office later accused del Rio of the same offenses, but a judge found Mendez Alpire guilty of libel anyway. Several news organizations and members of Congress called the sentence illegal and demanded an investigation. Mendez Alpire is currently free, pending his appeal.
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