Bolivia accuses Evo Morales of leading drug cartel that financed 53-day blockades
The Bolivian Government links Morales to a cartel in the Cochabamba Tropics that allegedly financed protests against President Rodrigo Paz.
Bolivian Government names Morales as leader of drug network that sustained blockades
The Government of Bolivia accused former president Evo Morales of heading a drug-trafficking cartel based in the Tropics of Cochabamba, according to infobae.com. The structure allegedly financed road blockades and mobilisations that extended between May and June with the aim of forcing President Rodrigo Paz to resign.
Government Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo affirmed that Morales—who presided over the country between 2006 and 2019—controls drug production from that region of central Bolivia, an area that also concentrates a significant portion of coca leaf cultivation.
"Who ordered the blockades? Who was sending money from the Tropics? In the Tropics nothing happens without Evo Morales ordering it," Oviedo declared in a radio interview.
More than eight million bolivianos detected in police operations
During operations carried out in the context of the route cuts, police detected money movements from the Cochabamba Tropics totalling more than eight million bolivianos. According to Oviedo, these resources sustained the blockades during the 53 days the conflict lasted.
The minister also named agricultural sectors, among them the Tupac Katari federation from La Paz, as participants in financing the protests. The mobilisations brought together farmers, the Bolivian Workers' Centre (COB), and organisations close to Morales.
Sixteen dead and an arrest warrant
The conflict left 16 people dead. Most died due to lack of medical attention resulting from the interruption of transit on the routes, which made it difficult to transport patients to health centres.
In the midst of the protests, Morales presented two alternatives to the Government: "You are left with two paths: militarise the country or call for elections in ninety days to avoid conflicts with dead and wounded."
The Public Prosecutor's Office subsequently opened a criminal investigation against the former leader for the crimes of armed uprising and terrorism, a case that resulted in an arrest warrant against him. That investigation adds to a previous arrest order within a process for aggravated human trafficking, in which justice is investigating the alleged relationship of Morales with a minor during his presidency and the supposed birth of a son in 2016.
Morales remains in the Tropics since October 2024
The former leader has remained in the Cochabamba Tropics since October 2024. His followers maintain a permanent vigil in the area to prevent a possible arrest. From there, Morales maintains a structure of political and trade-union support while facing the legal cases opened against him.
Source: Google News BO — Crime