Ava Guaraní leader faces sentencing in Bolivia over border land dispute

A Bolivian judge in Tarija is nearing a verdict against leaders of the Ava Guaraní community, including cacique Natalí Vásquez, in a case involving disputed territories near the Argentine border.

Vásquez and seven others face charges of damages and disturbances. The legal proceedings are controversial as the community leaders claim they are being prosecuted for defending ancestral lands that are currently being encroached upon by Bolivian sugarcane growers moving into Argentine territory.

The defense argues that the judicial process ignores evidence, including reports from the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA), which supports the community's claims. Due to an active arrest warrant, Vásquez has attempted to participate in hearings via Zoom from the Argentine side of the Grande River to avoid being declared a fugitive.