Bolivian judge orders arrest of ex-president Evo Morales in sex abuse case

A Bolivian judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of former president Evo Morales after he failed to appear in court over a case alleging that he sexually abused a minor.

Morales, 65, is alleged to have had a child with a teenage girl in 2016 – a sexual relationship that would have constituted statutory rape under Bolivian law.

“There’s been a warrant ordered for his search and arrest,” said Judge Nelson Rocabado after a hearing in the southern region of Tarija, where the alleged victim lives.

Morales has denied the allegations and claimed he was a “victim” to legal warfare carried out by his ally-turned-political-rival President Luis Arce, and refused to appear in court.

In December, the Bolivian prosecutor’s office also ordered Morales’ detention, but Friday’s order added extra weight on top of mounting calls for the ex-president’s capture.

The populist leader has barricaded himself in his fiefdom in Chapare, in central Bolivia, and lives in the headquarters of the coca growers’ unions protected by up to three security cordons to avoid his arrest.

The prosecutor handling the case, Sandra Gutierrez, said they would now investigate if the ex-president had committed a crime by not appearing in court.