An official in Evo Morales fled Bolivia, was rescued in the mountain range and sought political asylum in Chile

Peinado was investigated in 2012 for overpricing the purchase of equipment for the strategic company Papeles de BoliviaBut he managed to imprison him until October 2014, when a judge overturned the so-called “alternative proceedings” and he was sent to San Pedro Prison in La Paz.

But he soon got another ruling in his favour, and was able to return to house arrest. A copy of the Al-Dabr website indicated that Benadou had information that he would be imprisoned again and that this would have sentenced him to attempting illegal exit from the country.

Peinado was found on Monday with his partner and a pet near the Licancabur volcano, in Antofagasta, 1,370 kilometers from Santiago de Chile.

The first reports indicate that Benado and his partner had been walking for three days – due to a car malfunction when they tried to enter Chile – and they were dehydrated, in an inhospitable area and in the middle of an extremely cold climate.

The presidential delegate of the Chilean government in the region of Antofagasta, Daniel Agosto, confirmed that the former Bolivian official had requested asylum. He claims political persecution in his country. “It is clear that there is a complicated situation due to the conditions in which he entered,” he told El Mercurio newspaper.

Peinado has been taken to Carlos Cisterna Hospital, in Antofagasta, to take care of his delicate health. According to Chilean newspapers, it was the companion of the former deputy minister who managed to alert Carabineros of the situation in a phone call and give some coordinates of his location.

Municipal employees, firefighters and members of the police special operations group (Gope) worked on the rescue.

The border unit and rescue team immediately went to the unauthorized Chaksa Crossing sector in order to assist them. There were only footprints. Lieutenant Juan Zarate, of the San Pedro de Atacama unit, explained that they were in a rather deep valley, out of the way of vehicular access.