PANDURO, Bolivia (Reuters) — The Bolivian government confirmed on Thursday (August 25) that Bolivian Deputy Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes was beaten to death by striking mineworkers after being kidnapped.
“Everything indicates that our Vice Minister of the Interior, Rodolfo Illanes, was killed in a cowardly and brutal way. We are organizing to receive the body. We are deeply pained. We pray for the pain of the family,” said Government Minister Carlos Romero on state television.
The government had said that the 56-year-old Illanes had been kidnapped and was at risk of being tortured after he went to talk to protesters earlier on Thursday in Panduro, around 160 km (100 miles) from capital La Paz.
Protests by miners in Bolivia demanding changes to laws turned violent this week after a highway was blockaded. Two workers were killed on Wednesday after being shot by police, and the government said 17 police officers had been wounded.
The National Federation of Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia (FENCOMIN), once strong allies of leftist President Evo Morales, began what they said would be an indefinite protest after negotiations over mining legislation failed.
Protesters have been demanding more mining concessions, the right to work for private companies, and greater union representation.