LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The rich lands seized by the Bolivian State from an American almost a decade ago caused a dispute between groups of peasants who left one deceased and roadblocks in the country's agricultural heart.
Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Tuesday that a 22-year-old was killed on Sunday during a clash over the possession of some 30,000 hectares confiscated from American businessman Jacob Ostreicher in 2012.
On Tuesday, one of the disputed groups kept the road closed demanding that possession of the property and justice for the deceased be resolved.
The disputed land is located in the town of Guarayos, about 550 kilometers east of La Paz, in the center of the province of Santa Cruz.
When confirming a death in the clashes, the Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo, said at a press conference that on the instruction of President Luis Arce “we are going to ensure respect for private property, whether in urban or rural areas.”
“Right now, there is no justice in Bolivia. God willing, my desire in the future is to return to Bolivia to claim the goods that were stolen from me,” Ostreicher told the newspaper El Deber in Santa Cruz from the United States.
The region is the main producer and exporter of soybeans and oilseeds and is the center of numerous disputes between opposing political groups. The encroaching of agricultural land is also common.
Prosecutor Walter Cisneros said on Tuesday that five people have been arrested for the weekend's clashes that resulted in the death of a young man.
“Four have been apprehended in flagrante, with weapons in a van on the same premises,” he added.
By decision of a judge, the lands were placed in the custody of Ostreicher workers for unpaid wages.
In 2013, Ostreicher was released from prison and obtained house arrest after the efforts of American actor Sean Penn in a trial on suspicion of laundering profits.
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