Afp
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, p. 24
La Paz., A Bolivian prosecutor reported yesterday that she requested an arrest warrant for former President Evo Morales for the scandal of the alleged abuse of a minor when he was ruler (2006-2019).
The Public Ministry requested the arrest of Morales for the crime of treats as a minor, following the alleged arrangement with the parents of a 15-year-old teenager.
The Public Ministry authority reported that the arrest order was issued on October 16, but that it did not reveal that decision until yesterday.
Gutiérrez explained that he did not mention the matter beforehand because the case is very complexbecause it is a former president, who denied the accusations several times.
The scandal dates back to 2015, when the coca leader ruled the country. According to the file, Morales became involved with a 15-year-old minor with whom he had a daughter in 2016.
The fiscal thesis indicates that the minor’s parents enrolled her in the youth guard of Morales with the sole purpose of political escalation and obtaining benefits in exchange for his youngest daughter.
Due to these events, the prosecutor’s office yesterday presented an indictment against Morales and the mother of the alleged victim for the crime of aggravated human trafficking.
Although Morales has previously dismissed the complaint for being based on facts that were investigated in 2020 under the criminal figure of rape – which involves sexual intercourse with minors between 14 and 18 years old – the prosecution is now focusing on the alleged trafficking.
This is the second arrest warrant issued against Morales for the same case.
Prosecutor Gutiérrez had already ordered his capture in September, but a judicial appeal filed by the defense of the Aymara leader managed to revoke it.
In the midst of the fight for the left’s candidacy for the 2025 elections, Morales has argued that this investigation is a lawfare (judicial persecution) directed by the government of Luis Arce, his former ally, to outlaw it of the electoral race.