Many allegedly had ties to cocaine traffickers and made sure portions of the military acted as their enforcers/protectors in exchange for extensive bribes, which in turn were used to fund the upcoming coup.

In January 1981, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs named the García Meza regime, "Latin America's most errant violator of human rights after Guatemala and El Salvador.

[3] The administration's chief repressor was the Minister of Interior, Colonel Luis Arce, who cautioned that all Bolivians who opposed the new order should "walk around with their written will under their arms."

Quiroga had been the chief advocate of bringing to trial the former dictator, General Hugo Banzer (who was in power from 1971 until 1978), for human right violations and economic mismanagement.

In contrast to his position regarding the other military dictatorships in Latin America, the new conservative U.S. President Ronald Reagan kept his distance, as the regime's unsavory links to criminal circles became more public.

García Meza had reportedly been living in considerable comfort whilst in prison, with a barbecue, a gym, and a telephone at his disposal, in addition with a sauna and the occupation of three cells.

[4] García Meza died at the Cossmil military hospital, where he was serving the remainder of his 30-year prison term in La Paz on April 29, 2018, of a heart attack at the age of 88.