Bolivia: Former President Evo Morales accused of raping a girl

Bolivia's former president Evo Morales is being investigated for the rape of a minor eight years ago, when he was in power, and with whom he allegedly had a daughter, Justice Minister Cesar Siles revealed Thursday.

"We have observed with indignation serious crimes that intended to go unpunished: I am referring specifically to a girl, a girl raped at 15, 16 years old," said the official at a press conference. According to Siles, "As a result of that rape, [the mother] bore a child, and the father recognized in a birth certificate is Mr. Evo Morales Ayma."

"There is an open proceeding," and the case "is under investigation," added the minister in statements reported by AFP.

Dismissal of the prosecutor investigating Evo Morales for human trafficking

Morales is at the center of a scandal that erupted on Wednesday, when prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez claimed that she was dismissed for requesting the arrest of Morales following an investigation for "human trafficking" involving a minor.

In the arrest warrant against Morales, parts of which were leaked to the press, it is stated that in 2016, the then-president got involved with a 15-year-old girl with whom he had a daughter.

Evo Morales avoids talking about the rape of the girl: 'I am not afraid!'

Without alluding directly to the warrant, Morales posted on X: "It does not surprise me nor does it worry me. All the neoliberal governments, including the current one, threatened me, persecuted me, imprisoned me, tried to kill me. I am not afraid! They will not silence me!"

On Wednesday, a Santa Cruz judge upheld an appeal by Morales' lawyers that voided the arrest warrant, after which prosecutor Gutierrez assured that she was removed on the instruction of Attorney General Juan Lanchipa.

Morales governed Bolivia between 2006 and 2019 and, in the following election, promoted his eventual successor, Luis Arce, who was his minister of economy for more than a decade.

The two leaders have since broken ties and today are disputing the leadership of the ruling party and the presidential nomination for the 2025 general election.

For the moment, no judicial authority has ruled on the future of the investigation against Morales after the judge annulled the arrest warrant against him.