By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-17 19:56:38 | Updated at 2025-01-17 23:30:07
3 hours ago
A Bolivian judge ordered the arrest of Evo Morales on Friday, inflicting another blow to the socialist former president’s ambition to run in this year’s election.
The court declared Morales in contempt and also ordered his detention on human-trafficking charges, prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez told reporters.
The judge also ordered freezing Morales’ bank accounts, according to local television station Unitel.
Morales, who is being investigated for allegedly having a child with a minor, did not appear at the court hearing in the city of Tarija, the second time he has failed to appear.
He has repeatedly denied the charges, which he describes as an attempt to torpedo his political ambitions in the August presidential election.
“Morales still has a lot of strength but, generally, I would say he is already a political corpse,” said Carlos Toranzo, a La Paz-based political scientist.
