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Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho<\/a><\/span> won his release to house arrest Wednesday after two years and eight months of pretrial detention, a surprise move that empowered his supporters who long criticized his prosecution as unjust<\/a><\/span> and disheartened his detractors who complained of political pressures overriding procedural tradition.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s court order applied to the last of two cases that landed Camacho, the conservative governor of Bolivia\u2019s easternmost province of Santa Cruz, behind bars pending a trial. He had already been ordered freed to house arrest on Tuesday in the most explosive case, alleging his involvement in violent unrest over the disputed 2019 reelection<\/a><\/span> of socialist former President Evo Morales<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n The ruling on a different but related case Wednesday confirmed that the suspended governor would be transferred out of jail to house arrest with work-release privileges, which allow him to resume his duties as governor of Santa Cruz for the first time since his 2022 arrest.<\/p>\n Release to house arrest doesn\u2019t mean acquittal<\/strong><\/p>\n His transfer does not mean acquittal. Camacho still faces trial in these two cases and charges in other investigations.<\/p>\n But his release from prison to a much milder form of incarceration injects a potentially volatile new element into Bolivia\u2019s politics after a general election<\/a><\/span> earlier this month signaled the end of nearly 20 years<\/a><\/span> of dominance by Morales\u2019 Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS party.<\/p>\n The firebrand Christian leader<\/a><\/span> of a powerful Santa Cruz business association, Camacho gained prominence while leading protests against Morales in 2019 that ultimately forced Bolivia\u2019s first Indigenous leader to resign under pressure from the military<\/a><\/span> and flee to exile.<\/p>\n The order did not specify when the transfer would take place but Camacho\u2019s lawyer said it could happen as early as Friday.<\/p>\n Allegations of political persecution dog both sides<\/strong><\/p>\n The judiciary\u2019s sudden moves in long-stalled cases come as Bolivia\u2019s right-wing opposition prepares to return to power<\/a><\/span> for the first time in decades. A presidential runoff in October<\/a><\/span> will pit centrist Sen. Rodrigo Paz<\/a><\/span> against right-wing former President Jorge Quiroga<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Quiroga in particular has called for the release of his jailed allies, including Camacho as well as caretaker interim President Jeanine A\u00f1ez, who assumed the presidency in 2019 in what Morales\u2019 supporters call a coup<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Both A\u00f1ez and Camacho are divisive figures.<\/p>\n Although A\u00f1ez vowed to steer Bolivia to new elections in which she wouldn\u2019t run following her 2019 takeover, she swiftly cemented her hold on power, transforming the country\u2019s policies, violently cracking down on protests<\/a><\/span> and provoking Morales\u2019 Indigenous supporters.<\/p>\n After elections in 2020 vaulted Morales\u2019 handpicked successor<\/a><\/span>, President Luis Arce, to the nation\u2019s top job, the same judicial system that A\u00f1ez wielded against Morales and his followers sentenced her to 10 years in prison<\/a><\/span> on charges of sedition and terrorism stemming from her takeover.<\/p>\n Camacho was scooped up on the same charges<\/a><\/span> over his pivotal role in pressuring Morales to quit the presidency in 2019. At the time, he called on all MAS lawmakers to resign and even proposed that an unconstitutional junta take power before ultimately backing \u00c1\u00f1ez\u2019s government.<\/p>\n Unlike \u00c1\u00f1ez, Camacho was never tried.<\/p>\n Arrested in 2022 as he led a 36-day strike against Arce\u2019s government in Santa Cruz that shut down Bolivia\u2019s most populous and economically vital region, Camacho faced separate charges of criminal association<\/a><\/span> and illegal use of public property.<\/p>\n Every time he maxed out the legal detention period, a prosecutor extended his jailing<\/a><\/span> in a widely criticized tactic that Bolivia\u2019s judiciary often deploys in high-profile political cases.<\/p>\n Cases scrutinized after opposition wins first election in decades<\/strong><\/p>\n Judges on Tuesday and Wednesday weighing the 2019 upheaval case and 2022 strike case against Camacho determined that keeping him in jail exceeded the legal limits for a detainee awaiting trial.<\/p>\n It comes after Bolivia\u2019s Supreme Court last week issued a rare ruling ordering all judges<\/a><\/span> to review the legality of pretrial detention in the cases against A\u00f1ez and Camacho, as well as in the case of Marco Antonio Pumari, another opposition leader held over his role in the 2019 crisis<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n As news broke of the judge\u2019s ruling late Tuesday, crowds of Camacho\u2019s supporters in central Santa Cruz erupted in cheers.<\/p>\n The court also ordered the unconditional release of Pumari, a former civic leader in Bolivia\u2019s southern town of Potos\u00ed and Camacho\u2019s running mate in the 2020 elections, who has been detained since 2021.<\/p>\n Quiroga hailed the release orders for Camacho and Pumari, writing on social media that \u201cjustice cannot be an instrument of revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n