Luis Fernando López (military)

Luis Fernando López was born on 15 October 1964 in La Paz, Bolivia. He is the son of Major general Luis Fernando López Bacigalupo. He is the grandson of the prominent Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) politician Ruben Julio Castro.

In 1982, he entered the Military College of the Army before moving to Argentina to study at the National Military College, where he graduated with the rank of second lieutenant of cavalry with a specialiy in military parachuting in 1985. When he returned to Bolivia, he was assigned to work as a military instructor in the town of Sanandita from 1986 to 1989. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1990 and was assigned to the "Calama" Armored Cavalry Regiment. That same year, however, he requested his permanent discharge from the Bolivian Army and retired.

López then entered the Bolivian Catholic University in La Paz, graduating as a journalist. He worked as a consultant and trainer in political marketing at different universities and private companies in Bolivia. López later entered the business field, working for global brands such as BMW, Huawei, Cinemark, Coca-Cola, and Copa Airlines, among others. He was the Executive President of the Lola Group SRL agency which specialized in comprehensive communication and advertising marketing strategies. During this period, López would become acquainted with lawyer and businessman, Luis Fernando Camacho.

On 13 November 2019, interim President Jeanine Áñez appointed López to the position of Minister of Defense.[2] He held the position until 6 November 2020 when he resigned along with other cabinet ministers ahead of the inauguration of Luis Arce.

On 8 January 2021, the new administration formalized an indictment against López and former Minister of Government Arturo Murillo to activate a Red Notice requesting Interpol locate and provisionally arrest both former ministers pending extradition.[3] The decision came after Interpol informed the Bolivian government on 24 December that the former minister had fled to the United States.[4] In March 2020, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly had summoned both López and Murillo for questioning following the Senkata and Sacata attacks. The pair had been promoted for criminal prosecution for "breach of duties" and were charged with embezzlement in the purchase of riot control equipment.[4][5]