Bolivia accuses Evo Morales of leading drug-trafficking cartel in Cochabamba
The Bolivian government has named former president Evo Morales as the alleged leader of a cartel operating in Cochabamba's tropics. Minister Oviedo claims Morales controlled drug flows and financed 53 days of roadblocks.
Bolivian government accuses Morales of controlling drug trafficking in Cochabamba tropics
According to binoticias.com, the Bolivian government has named former president Evo Morales as the alleged leader of a drug-trafficking cartel operating in the tropics of Cochabamba, one of the country's principal coca-leaf producing regions and a historical stronghold of the former leader.
Government minister Marco Antonio Oviedo made the accusation in an interview with local radio station Erbol. Oviedo claimed that Morales controls the drug production that leaves that area and also held him responsible for financing the protests and road blockades that lasted 53 days between May and June, as part of demands for the resignation of president Rodrigo Paz.
"Nothing moves in the tropics without Evo Morales ordering it," the minister stated, adding that during police operations conducted in that period it was detected that more than 8 million bolivianos left the region to finance the mobilisations.
Oviedo also pointed to peasant organisations, including the Tupac Katari federation of La Paz, as sources of funding for the protests.
The mobilisations were led by peasants, members of the Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) and sectors allied with Morales, who held the Paz government responsible for the economic crisis facing the country. The conflict left 16 people dead, most from lack of medical care as a result of the road cuts.
In the midst of the clashes, Morales publicly warned that the president had to choose between militarising the country or calling elections within 90 days.
The Public Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation against the former leader for the alleged crimes of armed uprising and terrorism, considering him the supposed leader of the blockades. In that case there is a standing arrest warrant against him.
To that proceeding is added a second arrest warrant, linked to an investigation for alleged aggravated human trafficking. Morales is accused of having allegedly maintained a relationship with a minor during his presidential term, with whom he allegedly fathered a child in 2016.
As a result of this latter case, the former leader has remained in Cochabamba's tropics since October 2024. His supporters maintain constant surveillance in the area to prevent authorities from proceeding with his arrest.
Source: Google News BO — Crime