Cárdenas, former president during the de facto government of Jeanine Áñez (2019-2020), received the same punishment as the former president of Yacimientos Petrolófilos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) Herland Soliz (also in absentia) for the millions in losses caused to the state were created.
Both prisoners must serve their sentences in the maximum security prison of Chonchocoro, in the department of La Paz, according to the verdict found this Wednesday by a court in Ivirgarzama, Cochabamba, guilty of dereliction of duty and uneconomic conduct.
At the oral and adversarial hearing, Jorge Blancourt, Oscar Boutier and Carlos Vilar were also sentenced to eight years in prison in El Abra, Cochabamba; while Ívert Oliva will be in office for five years and four months.
As the State Ministry explained, they were all guilty of the abrupt shutdown of the fertilizer factory without any technical criteria.
After the 22-month shutdown, 73 percent of specialized and trained personnel were withdrawn, while equipment was partially preserved with nitrogen.
Meanwhile, the auxiliary companies remained in operation for over a year with the corresponding operating costs, without the necessary maintenance work being carried out on all critical systems and safety components.
This caused damage to one of the turbines, boilers and other technical equipment, and the replacement cost more than $400,000, it said.
To this expense are added the economic losses caused by the lack of production and sales of the PAU, which, after resuming operations, set a production record by September of the current year, generating revenues of $22.8 million.
Until the coup in November 2019, Brazil was the main importer of urea, with a demand of 277,539 tonnes (MT); followed by Argentina (103,725 tons), Paraguay (27,952 tons); Uruguay (more than 13,000 tons) and Peru with four thousand 68.
The Bulo Bulo PAU resumed operations in September 2021.
mem/jpm