Bolivia has issued an arrest warrant for Evo Morales after he failed to appear in court Stories of Evo Morales

Bolivia’s former president is accused of fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl while in office.

A judge in Bolivia has found that the country’s former leader Evo Morales is in contempt of court and has issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for his trial in the case of child trafficking.

The verdict on Monday sparked further controversy in the South American country, with supporters of Morales warning they would “bring chaos to the country” if the former leader is arrested.

Morales, who is the first president of Bolivia, is accused of fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl while in office. The teenager’s parents are accused of agreeing to the relationship in exchange for Morales.

The former socialist leader, who ruled from 2006 to 2019, has denied the allegations.

Morales was absent when his trial began on Monday in the southern city of Tarija, forcing an adjournment.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office said Morales’ “unexcused absences” proved he was a fugitive and ordered his arrest and travel ban.

The former president has been hiding from the law in his coca cultivation Chapare fort as of late 2024, he is under surveillance by Indian agents who have vowed to resist any attempt to arrest him.

‘Ready to fight’

“They think that by arresting Evo Morales, they will succeed in eliminating and eliminating this group. They are very wrong,” said Dieter Mendoza on Kawsachun Coca radio on Monday. “If they touch Evo Morales, this will lead to chaos… There will be terrorists in Bolivia.”

Mendoza urged residents of the Cochabamba Tropics to remain “vigilant” and “ready to fight”.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Morales in October 2024, but were unable to execute him after his followers. closed roads for 24 days, preventing the officers from reaching the protected area.

Morales was previously declared in contempt of court in January 2025, when he failed to appear for his arrest trial.

Wilfredo Chavez, one of his lawyers, told AFP reporters on Friday that neither Morales nor his lawyers would appear in court, because they were “not well informed”. The lawyer said the court did not send the summons to Morales’ address, but sent it through an order.

Morales, who he left abject poverty being one of Latin America’s longest-serving leaders, he has criticized “those who persecute and oppose me in his time”.

His refusal to step down in 2019 after three terms led him out of a crisis that has disrupted nearly 14 years of economic progress and poverty reduction.

Forced to resign after elections tainted by fraud, he fled into exile in Mexico and then Argentina, only to return home a year later.

He failed to return last year after sitting forbidden to seek the fourth term in the presidential election.