MIAMI, United States. –The commander of Interpol Bolivia, Juan Carlos Bazoalto, confirmed this weekend the existence of a current immigration alert against former president Evo Morales, investigated for a case of human trafficking.
“We assume knowledge that the General Directorate of Immigration has this immigration alert. We with our immigration control police unit, all personnel are ready [listo] to prevent this person from leaving [Morales] and of all citizens who have a migration alert,” Bazoalto declared to the Bolivian media.
On December 16, the Tarija Departmental Prosecutor’s Office issued the measure, which includes a formal accusation and an arrest warrant against the former president. Faced with this situation, Morales took refuge in the Tropic region of Cochabamba, where related organizations have warned that they will not allow his arrest. Some leaders affirm that, if the order is carried out, mobilizations will be unleashed “throughout the country.”
The most controversial statement came from the deputy of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), Gualberto Arispe, who held: “It has been said that whoever wants to come to apprehend Evo (Morales) should come, but determined to die. If you are not determined to die, it is better that you do not come because we are determined to defend our brother Evo Morales.”
The criticism was immediate. “Arcista” sectors (MAS faction related to President Luis Arce) and the opposition questioned that the Police had not executed the arrest warrant, and pointed out an alleged lack of determination on the part of the authorities. AND
Morales is summoned to testify on January 14, the date on which he must appear before Justice. If you fail to comply, you would be exposed to the execution of the arrest warrant and eventual preventive detention.
In mid-December, Morales was charged with the crime of “aggravated human trafficking,” according to Tarija departmental prosecutor Sandra Gutiérrez. at press conference.
In addition to the former president, the parents of the alleged victim, Idelsa Pozo Saavedra and Emeterio Vargas Mamani, are accused.
Gutiérrez detailed that Morales would have had relations with a minor during his third presidential term, in 2015. “There is nothing political here,” said the prosecutor, emphasizing that the case seeks to “protect the rights of a person who (…) has been humiliated.”
According to the authority, one of the victim’s parents, Emeterio Vargas Mamani, is already in preventive detention. The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that both parents intended to obtain political benefits at the expense of their daughter. The investigations, begun at the end of September, led to the conclusion that these actions fit into the criminal figure of human trafficking, orienting the case towards that legal perspective.
Tension in Bolivia has increased in recent years due to the break between Morales and Arce, former allies of the MAS. Morales intends to run for president again in 2025, facing Arce’s re-election project. In this context, the accusations against the former president have worsened internal divisions and the climate of political instability.
