(BSS/AFP) - Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho took back control of the eastern department of Santa Cruz on Friday, hours after being released from jail following nearly three years in detention on terrorism charges, an AFP reporter said.

The 46-year-old conservative lawyer and businessman was arrested in December 2022 over his alleged role in the ouster of leftist president Evo Morales in 2019.

Morales stepped down after losing the support of the military amid strikes and protests in response to his disputed election to a fourth term.

Camacho led violent protests over Morales` re-election claim.

His detention in 2022 on charges of fomenting a coup sparked countrywide protests, with many Bolivians dismissing the alleged coup as fictitious.

"It has been an honor to be imprisoned for almost three years, for the struggle of my people and for democracy," he told a rally in Santa Cruz, on his arrival home from a maximum security prison near La Paz.

His imprisonment has been a rallying cause for the Bolivian right, which is poised to win back the presidency after two decades in an election run-off in October.

Camacho was released from custody after a court ruled that he had been kept in pre-trial detention for more than the legally permissible two years.

He has been placed under house arrest while the investigation into him continues, but his lawyers said that did not prevent him from working.

Camacho returned to a hero`s welcome in Bolivia`s economic powerhouse, with thousands of supporters waving green-and-white Santa Cruz flags as he walked down an avenue to the main square, where the governor`s office is located.

He then entered the building to take over from deputy governor Mario Aguilera, who had been in charge of the department in his absence.

In addition to the ongoing investigation over the alleged coup which was spearheaded by the outgoing socialists, Camacho also has three other pending cases -- for instigating a strike, alleged public procurement irregularities, and alleged irregular staffing appointments in the governor`s office.