Bolivia’s Evo Morales charged with human trafficking

The Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office has charged former President Evo Morales with the crime of human trafficking and issued an arrest warrant as part of an investigation linking him to an alleged case of statutory rape, according to a regional prosecutor.

Tarija’s departmental prosecutor, Sandra Gutiérrez, announced at a press conference on Monday that formal charges have been presented to the Prosecutor’s Office, accusing Evo Morales of aggravated human trafficking in the case of a 15-year-old, a scandal dating back to 2015 during Morales’s presidency. Legal documents allege that the ex-president had a daughter with the victim in 2016.

The victim’s mother, Idelsa Pozo Saavedra, has also been charged with the same crimes. Bolivian law establishes prison sentences of 10 to 15 years for those found guilty of human trafficking. The aggravating factor in the crime for Evo Morales is that the crimes took place while he was a public servant as president of Bolivia, according to Sandra Gutiérrez.

“We can’t tolerate these types of situations,” said Gutiérrez. “And even more so that the President of our country had committed these suspected crimes.”

The charges date back to October 16, but the delay in making the case public was due to “threats,” according to Sandra Gutiérrez. A migratory alert has also been issued by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Gutiérrez anticipated that in the precautionary hearing to be scheduled by the court in the coming days, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will request preventive detention for Evo Morales and Idelsa Pozo, after submitting the indictment for this case that has been under investigation for more than two months, according to Bolivia media ‘El Deber’.

In response to the charges, Morales has sought refuge in his stronghold in the Chapare region, where thousands of supporters have organized vigils to prevent his arrest, according to El Pais. They argue that the legal proceedings are politically motivated, aiming to discredit Morales ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.