The prosecutor’s office of the Bolivian department of Tarija has brought charges against former President Evo Morales, suspected of human trafficking. This was reported by the newspaper El Deber.
“Today, an official charge of human trafficking was brought. There is and was a warrant for the detention of two individuals because they did not comply with the summons for questioning,” the newspaper quotes prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez as saying.
She said that the prosecutor’s office also asked to notify border services about the risk of Morales escaping. In the coming days, the court should set a date for considering the prosecutor’s request to detain the former president.
The mother of the alleged victim of human trafficking has also been charged. According to investigators, the parents of the 15-year-old girl introduced her to Morales for the sake of a career in the public sector. In early October, Bolivian Justice Minister Cesar Siles reported that as a result of the relationship with the former president, the minor became pregnant.
In 2020, under the government of acting President Jeanine Áñez, the Ministry of Justice launched an investigation into Morales on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor, but it was never completed. The former president considers himself a victim of political persecution.