Bolivia, the Supreme Court orders an investigation into Evo Morales

The Criminal Section of the Supreme Court of Justice of Bolivia has ordered an investigation into former President Evo Morales and former Vice President Álvaro García Linera. The two are accused of alleged "crimes against humanity" linked to a 2009 police operation conducted during the former head of state's administration.

The judicial decision accepts a complaint presented by the opposition, which accuses politicians of alleged "summary executions", "illegal detentions" and "torture" relating to the so-called terrorism case. The president of the Criminal Section, Carlos Ortega, announced "the opening resolution of the investigation phase", specifying that the preliminary process will last 30 days, at the end of which the Public Prosecutor will issue "the final resolution that corresponds to this phase".

The facts date back to April 2009, when a raid on a hotel in Santa Cruz ended with the death of three foreign citizens and the arrest of two other people, accused by the government of subversive plot. The case was closed in 2020, but in 2022 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled that "the Bolivian State is responsible for the violation of the rights to life, personal integrity, personal liberty, judicial guarantees and judicial protection" of the people involved.

The opening of the new proceedings does not yet constitute a guilty plea.