MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Evo Morales fails to appear at minor-trafficking trial; court orders his arrest

The former president has been in hiding since 2024 in Chapare, the tropical coca-growing region where he forged his union and political career

The First Criminal Sentencing Court of Tarija, in southern Bolivia, on Monday declared former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) in contempt and ratified the arrest and travel-ban orders against him after he failed to attend the opening of his oral trial for alleged aggravated human trafficking. The same measure was applied to Idelsa Pozo Saavedra, mother of the alleged victim. Judge Carlos Oblitas suspended the proceedings without a new date, pending the arrest or voluntary appearance of the defendants.

Prosecutors allege that during his second term in office Morales had a relationship with a 15-year-old, with whom he reportedly had a daughter. According to the indictment, the girl's parents consented to the relationship in exchange for political and economic favors. The file was built on more than 170 pieces of evidence, according to the Tarija departmental prosecutor's office. The case first emerged in 2020, during the transitional government of Jeanine Áñez, after the leak of images and text messages between Morales and the then teenager, but was shelved months later under the administration of his political successor, Luis Arce. It was reopened in September 2024 amid the internal rupture of the Movement for Socialism between the Arce and Morales factions.

Luis Esteban Ortiz, president of Tarija's Departmental Court of Justice, said the measures comply with the Code of Criminal Procedure and that notifications were issued through several channels. The defense, led by attorney Nelson Cox, argues the proceedings are irregular and lack guarantees. “The court, unfortunately, is not respecting international standards; it is not appropriate to appear,” Cox told reporters last week. Morales has described the process as political persecution and wrote on X: “I am not seeking impunity. I want my accusers to demonstrate —with legal and real evidence— the alleged crimes I committed.”

The alleged victim recently filed a memorial with the court requesting that the case be annulled. She states that she is not a victim and that “there was no event nor any exploitation.” The court clarified that any withdrawal must be addressed within the oral trial.

The former president has been in hiding since 2024 in Chapare, the tropical coca-growing region where he forged his union and political career. Hundreds of coca growers maintain a permanent watch to prevent his arrest. The judicial order comes one day before the start of a march called by Morales toward La Paz to protest the “neoliberal and privatizing policies” of President Rodrigo Paz, against a backdrop of inflation that several analysts project above 20% annually. On Friday, the Government denounced an alleged plan to “encircle” the seat of the Executive based on audio recordings attributed to Morales that independent fact-checkers say date from previous years.