A Bolivian judge has issued a warrant for former President Evo Morales's arrest after he failed to appear for his trial on charges of trafficking a minor. His supporters threaten unrest if he is detained.
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A Bolivian judge has found former President Evo Morales in contempt of court and reissued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to turn up for the start of his trial on charges of trafficking a minor.
The ruling on Monday renewed tensions in the South American country, with supporters of Morales warning they would “throw the country into turmoil” if the former leader is arrested.
Morales, who is Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, is accused of fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl while in office. The parents of the teen are accused of consenting to the relationship in exchange for favours from Morales.
The former socialist leader, who governed from 2006 to 2019, has rejected the accusations.
Morales did not attend the scheduled start of his trial on Monday in the southern city of Tarija, forcing the proceedings to be suspended.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said Morales’s “unjustified absence” confirmed his fugitive status and warranted an arrest order as well as a travel ban.
The former president has been hiding from the law in his central coca-growing stronghold of Chapare since late 2024, guarded by Indigenous supporters who have promised to resist any attempt to capture him.
“They think that by arresting Evo Morales, they will succeed in quelling and demobilising the movement. They are very much mistaken,” supporter Dieter Mendoza said on Kawsachun Coca radio on Monday. “If they touch Evo Morales, this will cause an upheaval … There will be an insurgency across Bolivia.”
Mendoza urged residents of the Cochabamba Tropics to remain on “high alert” and “ready for battle”.
Authorities first issued an arrest warrant for Morales in October 2024, but could not execute it after his supporters blocked roads for 24 days, preventing officers from reaching the region where he remains sheltered.
Morales was already declared in contempt of court in January 2025, when he did not show for a pretrial detention hearing.
Wilfredo Chavez, one of his lawyers, told the AFP news agency on Friday that neither Morales nor his lawyers would show up in court, as they had not been “properly notified”. The lawyer said the court did not send the summons to Morales’s address, but had instead served it through an edict.
Morales, who rose from dire poverty to become one of Latin America’s longest-serving leaders, has slammed those “that persecute me and condemn me in record time”.
Evo Morales is facing charges of trafficking a minor, accused of fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl.
Evo Morales did not attend the scheduled start of his trial, leading to the proceedings being suspended and a warrant for his arrest being reissued.
Supporters of Evo Morales have warned that his arrest could lead to turmoil in the country.
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His refusal to give up power in 2019 after three terms led to a tumultuous exit that cast a shadow over nearly 14 years of economic progress and poverty reduction.
Forced to resign after elections tainted by fraud, he slipped away into exile in Mexico and later Argentina, but returned home a year later.
He failed to make a comeback last year after being barred from seeking a fourth term in presidential elections.