Bolivia accuses Evo Morales of leading drug trafficking cartel in Cochabamba
The government minister pointed to Morales as the head of drug trafficking in the Trópico de Cochabamba. The former president already faces arrest warrants for terrorism and human trafficking.
Bolivia identifies Evo Morales as head of drug cartel that financed 53-day blockades
The Bolivian Government accused former president Evo Morales on Wednesday of heading a drug trafficking cartel operating from the Trópico de Cochabamba, according to elfinanciero.com.mx. The authorities maintain that the cartel financed the conflicts recorded between May and June last year.
Government minister Marco Antonio Oviedo stated in an interview with local radio station Erbol that Morales—who governed the country between 2006 and 2019—controls "all the production" of drugs coming out of the Trópico de Cochabamba, one of the country's main coca leaf producing zones.
"Who ordered the blockades to be made? Who was sending money from the Trópico? Nothing moves in the Trópico if Evo Morales doesn't order it," Oviedo declared.
The minister also pointed out that in police operations carried out during the road blockades it was established that "more than eight million Bolivianos left the Trópico". The route closures lasted for 53 days between May and June, and left sixteen people dead, most from lack of medical attention.
Oviedo also pointed to peasant sectors, among them the Tupac Katari federation from La Paz, as financiers of the protests, which demanded the resignation of president Rodrigo Paz on the grounds that he had not resolved the economic crisis the country is facing.
In that context, Morales publicly declared that Paz had "two options": to "militarise" the country or to call elections within ninety days "to avoid conflicts with deaths and injuries".
The Public Prosecutor's Office had already opened a criminal investigation against the former leader for armed uprising and terrorism, accusing him of leading the protests and blockades. An arrest warrant exists in that case.
Added to this is a previous detention order linked to an investigation into aggravated human trafficking. In that proceeding, he is accused of having maintained a relationship with a minor during his presidency and of having fathered a child with her in 2016.
Since October 2024, Morales has remained in the Trópico de Cochabamba without leaving the area, where his supporters maintain a permanent vigil to prevent his detention.
Source: Google News BO — Crime