Bolivia's YPFB managers jailed over 'gasolina basura' fuel scandal

Two senior officials of Bolivia's state oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPFB) were ordered to preventive detention for six months. Judge Luis Fernando García sentenced commercial manager Nelson Alejandro Mendoza, who will serve his term at San Pedro de La Paz prison, and logistics manager Eddy Rolando Torrico, sent to Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz. Both were charged with breach of duties and anti‑economic conduct after a complaint by deputy Lissa Claros and the National Hydrocarbons Agency.

Prosecutor David Torrez said the investigation will also summon former YPFB president Yusef Akly and ex‑minister of hydrocarbons Mauricio Medinaceli, along with other officials linked to fuel acquisition and distribution. The case centers on the sale of low‑quality fuel dubbed “gasolina basura,” whose high gum content damaged millions of vehicles across the country. Three people have already been processed, including former commercial manager Carlos Cuéllar Pinto, also under six‑month detention. Defendants argue that fuel quality oversight lies with other agencies and that a contract signed during President Luis Arce’s administration contained unknown clauses.