Zürcher Nachrichten - Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'

On Thursday, Justice Minister Cesar Siles said Morales, 64, was being investigated for the alleged rape nine years ago of a girl who was aged "15 or 16" at the time.

He said the girl went on to give birth to a baby girl after the alleged incident in 2015.

Morales, who is engaged in a bitter standoff with his successor Luis Arce, confirmed at a press conference in the city of Cochabamba that he had been investigated over the allegations.

But he maintained that the case was closed after investigations found no evidence against him.

"There was nothing, it is a lie," he told reporters.

Morales, a former coca grower who became Bolivia's first Indigenous president in 2006, was highly popular until he tried to bypass the constitution to seek a fourth term.

He was forced to resign in 2019 after an election marked by allegations of fraud.

He is hoping to make a comeback in August 2025 presidential elections, despite the courts barring him from running, but has found himself mired in scandal.

This week, a prosecutor said she was fired for seeking his arrest as part of a probe into human trafficking involving a minor.

The paperwork seeking his arrest, excerpts of which were leaked to the press, accused him of fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl.

"The father recognized on the birth certificate" of the child is Morales, Siles, the justice minister, said on Thursday.

Writing on X, Morales, who led thousands of mainly Indigenous Bolivians in a week-long march on the capital La Paz to protest Arce's policies, suggested he was the victim of a political plot.

"All the neo-liberal governments, including the current one, threatened me, persecuted me, jailed me, tried to kill me. I am not afraid! They will not silence me!"

President Arce used to be close to Morales and served as his finance minister for more than a decade.

But they fell out and are now fighting each other for the presidential nomination of the ruling MAS party in next year's election.

A.Ferraro--NZN