Bolivia’s new Interior Minister Arturo Murillo has on Twitter published an arrest order for the country’s former President Evo Morales.
According to the text of the document, the decision to issue a warrant was taken as part of a criminal investigation into incitement to rebellion, terrorism, and financing terrorism.
The interior minister has already vowed to detain the former president, accusing Morales of inciting anti-government protests that, as Murillo claimed, amounted to terrorism.
Sr. @evoespueblo para su conocimiento pic.twitter.com/1KrAFcevjQ
— Arturo Murillo (@ArturoMurilloS) December 18, 2019
Political Crisis in Bolivia
In October, Morales claimed victory in the election that would have commenced his fourth consecutive presidential term in Bolivia. The opposition challenged his victory, claiming multiple violations during the vote. As violent protests flared up across the nation, Morales stepped down and fled to Mexico.
Opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez then took over as an interim president, while Morales and his party Movement for Socialism (MAS) described the situation as a coup. She also pledged to hold a new election and ensure that Morales not be allowed to run for a fourth consecutive term. The new vote is now scheduled to take place in mid-March.
The MAS, in the meantime, has chosen the fugitive former president to head its election campaign.