LA PAZ: Bolivia’s attorney general said Monday he had opened a “terrorism” probe into ex-president Evo Morales for allegedly ordering his supporters to block roads after he was banned from contesting August elections.
Roger Mariaca told reporters his office had decided to “admit this accusation” filed by the government against Morales, whose supporters cut off supplies to La Paz for several days this month.
Morales, one of Latin America’s longest-serving leaders, resigned under a cloud in 2019 after seeking to extend his 13-year grip on power.
Since then, the Constitutional Court has upheld Bolivia’s two-term limit, which Morales previously managed to evade.
And last month, electoral officials rejected his bid to register himself as a candidate in spite of the constitutional ban.
Morales is also wanted on charges of trafficking a minor after allegedly fathering a daughter with a teenager in 2015.
Last week, Bolivian Justice Minister Cesar Siles said the government had filed a complaint against the ex-president for “terrorism, public incitement to crime and attacks on the security of public services” over the campaign of roadblocks the government said caused daily losses of up to $150 million.
A leaked audio message appeared to capture Morales calling on his supporters in the country’s agricultural heartland to shut down two key roads leading to La Paz.
Morales claims to be the victim of judicial persecution.
