Former Bolivian President Evo Morales Denies Fleeing the Country

SadaNews - The former Bolivian president Evo Morales, wanted under an arrest warrant, appeared on Thursday - Friday at a large gathering in his stronghold of Chapare, assuring thousands of supporters that he has not fled the country after weeks of absence from the public scene.

The former leftist leader had not participated in any public events, nor had he presented his weekly radio program since early January, following the overflight of a helicopter carrying members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Bolivian officials over the area as part of a monitoring operation against drug trafficking, according to the government. His supporters feared at the time that he might have been arrested and handed over to the United States on drug-related charges, similar to what happened to ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

In response to rumors of his fleeing abroad, Evo Morales affirmed that he does not intend to leave the country, stating, "I will not leave, I will stay with the people to defend the homeland," noting that he recently contracted Chikungunya fever. Evo Morales, who has an arrest warrant issued against him since 2024 in a case related to the trafficking of minors, denies the charges and lives in isolation in Chapare, protected by his supporters.

He appeared in the town of Chimoré, in a packed stadium that accommodates 15,000 people, to support his candidates in the regional elections scheduled for March 22.