Bolivia Issues Arrest Warrant for Evo Morales After Court No-Show on Trafficking Charges
Primary region South America
Tags Justice · Corruption
Regions South America
A Bolivian judge in Tarija reissued an arrest warrant for former president Evo Morales and declared him in contempt of court after he failed to appear on May 11 for the start of his trial on charges of trafficking a minor. Morales, who governed from 2006 to 2019, is accused of fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl while in office. The trial has been suspended indefinitely. Morales has been sheltering in his stronghold region of Chapare since late 2024, guarded by supporters who blocked roads for 24 days in October 2024 to prevent an earlier arrest attempt. Supporters warned they would 'throw the country into turmoil' if Morales is arrested.
Strategic interpretation
The Morales standoff reflects Bolivia's deep political polarization between the former president's indigenous support base and the current government. The inability of authorities to execute the arrest warrant — now for the second time — demonstrates the limits of state power in the face of organized local resistance. The case has become a proxy for broader conflicts over Bolivia's political direction, with Morales's supporters framing it as political persecution and the government insisting on rule of law.