BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2020) The anti-corruption commission of the Bolivian prosecutor's office on Tuesday accused Evo Morales, the country's former president, of crimes related to terrorism and asked for his arrest.
"The anti-corruption commission of the prosecutor's office is officially accusing the ex-president, Evo Morales, of crimes related to terrorism and financing terrorism, as he, supposedly, was coordinating food blockade and the siege of major cities during the conflict in November 2019 with the leader of Bolivian cocaleros [coca leaf growers], Faustino Y [Yucra], via phone conversations," the committee said.
The prosecutor's office also formally required that the ex-president be arrested. Morales, who is now residing in Argentina, is often accused of different crimes by the new government of Bolivia.
In October, the Bolivian opposition refused to accept the victory of then-incumbent Morales in the first round of the presidential election, citing alleged irregularities in the vote-counting process. Under the pressure of protests and the military, Morales stepped down and fled the country. Bolivia's highest-ranking officials followed suit. The opposition vice speaker of the upper house, Jeanine Anez, took over as interim president.
In November, pro-Morales and anti-Anez protesters took to the streets of Bolivia and cut off several major roads, resulting in shortages of food and fuel. Morales has been accused of ordering Yucra to block the entrance of food products to La Paz after the audio recording of their conversation was discovered, but the recording has not been independently verified. Yucra was arrested on charges of terrorism and sedition in April.
