Arturo Murillo

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Murillo and the second or maternal family name is Prijic.

Arturo Murillo
Arturo Murillo.jpg
Minister of Government
In office
20 October 2020 – 6 November 2020
PresidentJeanine Áñez
Preceded byWilson Santamaría (acting)
Succeeded byEduardo del Castillo
In office
13 November 2019 – 19 October 2020
Preceded byCarlos Romero
Succeeded byWilson Santamaría (acting)
Senator for Cochabamba
In office
22 January 2015 – 13 November 2019
AlternateSilvia Carmen Rosa Guzmán[1]
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
from Cochabamba
In office
22 January 2006 – 22 January 2010
ConstituencyPlurinominal
Personal details
Born
Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic

(1963-12-27) 27 December 1963 (age 57)
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Political partyDemocrat Social Movement (2019–present)
Other political
affiliations		National Unity Front (2005–2018)

Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic (born 27 December 1963) is a Bolivian businessman and politician who served as Minister of Government of Bolivia from 13 November 2019 to 6 November 2020 during the interim government of Jeanine Áñez. During his political career, Murillo served as a Deputy and later Senator for the Cochabamba Department.[2]

Early life and career[]

Arturo Murillo was born on 27 December 1963 in Cercado, Cochabamba.[2] Prior to entering politics, he worked in the hotel and tourism sector. He chaired the Tropic Hotel Association of Cochabamba and was a member of the Federation of Private Business Entities of Cochabamba.

Political career[]

Arturo Murillo began his political activity in 2005, after joining the National Unity Front (UN), established two years prior by Samuel Doria Medina.[3] He maintained a stance of determined opposition to President Evo Morales and his policies.[4]

Deputy for Cochabamba (2006–2010)[]

In the 2005 general elections, Murillo acceded to the legislature on behalf of the UN, obtaining the party's only seat in the Cochabamba Department.[5] He served as deputy campaign manager during the presidential campaign of Sameul Doria Medina in the 2009 general elections.[6]

In the 2010 subnational elections, Murillo ran for Mayor of the Ceracado Municipality.[7] The electoral results placed him in second place with 37.9% of the votes, narrowly losing to Edwin Castellanos of the Movement for Socialism who obtained 40.2% of the electorate.[8]

Following Murillo's defeat in the subnational elections, Samuel Doria Medina appointed him to be the spokesperson for UN.[9]

Senator for Cochabamba (2015–2019)[]

In 2011, the Ministry of Transparency denounced Arturo Murillo for the alleged falsification of his military service book to be allowed to run for public office.[10] The investigation revealed that Murillo had used forged documents to be allowed to serve as Deputy and later run as a candidate for Municipal Mayor. He was sentences to two years in prison for the crime of using a forged instrument.[11]

In 2014, Murillo returned to politics, this time running for the position of Senator for the Department of Cochabamba. He won the seat in during the October general elections and took office on 22 January 2015.

On 30 November 2018, Murillo publicly broke with the UN, this due to strong disagreements between himself and Doria Medina, who had recently broken the party's alliance with the Democrat Social Movement of Rubén Costas.[12]

Minister of Government (2019–2020)[]

Following the political crisis which took hold of the country between October and November 2019, the interim government of Jeanine Áñez appointed Murillo to the position of Minister of Government on 13 November.[4]

On 11 November, residents of the municipality of Villa Tunari looted and set fire to the Hotel Victoria Resort, owned by Murillo.[13] Soon after being inaugurated as Government Minister, Murillo denounced the destruction of his building and ordered Bolivian police to search for and rescue his relatives (his sister and two children) who had escaped the hotel and whose whereabouts were unknown. Eight individuals were located on 17 November.[14] As of December 2019, the hotel remained in ashes and was guarded by Villa Tunari residents.[14]

In March 2020, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly summoned Ministers Arturo Murillo and Luis Fernando López for questioning following the Senkata and Sacata Massacres and the actions of violence in Yapacaní and Montero.[15] Murillo refused to attend the summons and in September a Mixed Commission promoted his criminal prosecution for "breach of duties."[16] In October 2020, the assembly again summoned Minister Murillo to respond to questions which he again did not attend. As a result, in compliance with article 158 of the Constitution, the assembly Censured him and requested his removal from office.[17]

In August, Murillo faced public backlash for threatening to "shoot" protesters protesting repeated postponements of the 2020 general elections.[18] Ahead of the October general election, he threatened to imprison or expel international observers claiming that "most of them are agitators."[19]

On 19 October, President Jeanine Áñez dismissed Murillo,  but two days later restored him in office.[20][21] Murillo presented his resignation along with a dozen other ministers on 6 November, two days before the inauguration of Luis Arce.[22]

Exile in the United States[]

Following his resignation, questions arose surrounding Murillo's whereabouts. On 5 January 2021, it was confirmed that the former Minister of Government had fled to the United States and had been there since 12 November 2020.[23] The announcement corroborated suspicions surrounding Murillo's whereabouts and showed that he had left the country on 5 November, the day prior to his official resignation, passing through Brazil and Panama before travelling to the U.S. Murillo, along with former Minister of Defense Luis Fernando López, who also fled the country, remained under investigation on accusations of embezzlement in the purchase of riot control equipment during the Áñez government.

On 8 January, an indictment against Murillo and López was formalized to activate a Red Notice requesting Interpol locate and provisionally arrest both former ministers pending extradition.[24] Murillo was arrested in the United States on 21–22 May 2021 together with his chief of staff, Sergio Rodrigo Méndez.[25]

Money laundering charges[]

In May 2021, the United State government indicted and arrested Murillo and four other individuals on charges related to a bribery and money laundering scheme surrounding the sale of anti-riot equipment to the Bolivian government.[26] Those arrested were Murillo; Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, his chief of staff at the Ministry of Government; Bryan Berkman, 36, CEO of Bravo Tactical Solutions; his father, Luis Berkman, 58; and Philip Lichtenfeld, 48.[26] The indictment alleges that the five individuals engaged in the bribery scheme between approximately November 2019 and April 2020.[26] During that time, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman, and Lichtenfeld allegedly paid $602,000 in bribes to Bolivian government officials for the benefit of Murillo, the former Minister of Government of Bolivia, Mendez, the former Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Government of Bolivia, and another Bolivian government official. The bribes were paid so that Bryan Berkman’s Florida-based company would obtain and retain business from the Bolivian Ministry of Defense, specifically, an approximately $5.6 million contract to provide to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense tear gas and other non-lethal equipment.[26] To promote the bribery scheme, Bryan Berkman, Luis Berkman, and Lichtenfeld then allegedly laundered the payments to Bolivian government officials through bank accounts in Florida and Bolivia and orchestrated the payment of $582,000 in cash for Murillo and Mendez.[26]

All five individuals are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.[27]

References[]

  1. ^ "Vicepresidencia del Estado". www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic | Cámara de Senadores". 16 November 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Samuel Doria Medina (Bolivia)". CELAG (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Aguilera, José. "Murillo, de hotelero y parlamentario a dirigir el Ministerio de Gobierno". eju.tv (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Bolivia: Elecciones Legislativas / Legislative Elections". pdba.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  6. ^ https://www.te.gob.mx/salasreg/Uploader/Noticias_Electorales/pantallaNotas.asp?id_notas=6062. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ Bolivia, Opinión. "Arturo Murillo oficializa candidatura a la Alcaldía". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Edición impresa 05 abril 2010". Issuu. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  9. ^ "UN pide suspensión de ministro de Gobierno Sacha Llorenti y general Óscar Nina". 28 February 2011.
  10. ^ "Arturo Murillo pidió la extinción de su proceso por falsificar libreta militar". 12 April 2014.
  11. ^ "Dictan dos años de cárcel para senador Arturo Murillo por uso de libreta militar falsa". Los Tiempos (in Spanish). 3 May 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Arturo Murillo deja UN tras la ruptura con Demócratas". Los Tiempos (in Spanish). 30 November 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Murillo denuncia que quemaron su hotel e intentaron atentar contra la vida de su hermana". Los Tiempos (in Spanish). 11 November 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "El hotel quemado de Arturo Murillo es vigilado por los lugareños". Opinión. Cochabamba. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Por muertes en Senkata y Sacaba, el Legislativo interpelará el viernes a Murillo y López – La Razón". 204.11.233.100. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  16. ^ Bolivia, Opinión. "Murillo y comandante del Ejército, procesados por "incumplimiento de deberes" en caso de Senkata y Sacaba". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  17. ^ de 2020, Por Infobae Newsroom14 de Octubre. "Bolivia.- La Asamblea de Bolivia censura al ministro de Gobierno Murillo y pide a Áñez su destitución". infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  18. ^ Página12 (11 August 2020). "Protestas en Bolivia: El gobierno de facto amenaza con "meter bala" | Crece la tensión al cumplirse nueve días de reclamos por la postergación de las elecciones presidenciales". PAGINA12. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Murillo vuelve a amenazar a observadores internacionales: «la mayoría son agitadores»". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Añez cesa a Murillo y Cárdenas como ministros tras la censura legislativa". Erbol (in Spanish). 19 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  21. ^ de 2020, 21 de Octubre. "Bolivia: Jeanine Áñez desafió a la Asamblea y restituye a Murillo y al ministro de Educación tras su moción de censura". infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  22. ^ "El ministro Murillo da un paso al costado antes de la transmisión de mando". Correo del Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  23. ^ Press, Europa (6 January 2021). "Bolivia.- Confirman la presencia en EEUU del exministro de Gobierno Arturo Murillo desde el 12 de noviembre". www.notimerica.com. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  24. ^ Bolivia, Opinión. "Formalizan imputación contra Murillo y López para activar el sello rojo de Interpol". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  25. ^ "EEUU confirma el arresto de Arturo Murillo, el 'número dos' de Áñez, por sobornos y lavado de dinero". Europa Press (in Spanish). 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Weaver, Jay (27 May 2021). "South Florida businessmen accused of bribing ex-Bolivian officials for tear gas contract". Miami Herald. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  27. ^ "Former Minister of Government of Bolivia, Owner of Florida-Based Company, and Three Others Charged in Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme". 26 May 2021.
Political offices
Vacant
Title last held by
Carlos Romero 		Minister of Government
2019–2020 		Succeeded by
Wilson Santamaría
Acting
Preceded by
Wilson Santamaría
Acting 		Minister of Government
2020 		Vacant
Title next held by
Eduardo del Castillo
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