Bolivia Probes Evo Morales Over 3 Deaths in Hotel Raid
BOLIVIA · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Bolivia is a landlocked Andean country in South America. Evo Morales, a former coca growers’ leader, governed it as president from 2006 to 2019.
- —What happened On Monday 12 October, Bolivia’s acting attorney general told the Supreme Court that prosecutors are investigating Evo Morales and his former vice president.
- —The allegations Murder, abuse and torture, and deprivation of liberty in a police raid on a Santa Cruz hotel on 16 April 2009.
- —The victims Three men died in the raid, all foreign or dual nationals, among them Irish citizen Michael Dwyer. Two others were detained.
- —Who filed it Libre, a conservative alliance led by former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, filed the accusation with prosecutors on Friday 9 October.
- —Still open Morales had not responded publicly by Monday evening. Any trial would first need a two-thirds vote in Bolivia’s Legislative Assembly.
Bolivian prosecutors opened a murder and torture inquiry into former president Evo Morales over a 2009 police raid that killed three men. Acting Attorney General José Armando Urioste notified the Supreme Court of Justice of the step on Monday 12 October.
The men killed in the raid in the eastern city of Santa Cruz were foreign or dual nationals, including an Irishman. The case has already been examined by the Washington-based human-rights commission of the Organization of American States.
What Prosecutors Told the Supreme Court
Urioste informed the Supreme Court of Justice, Bolivia’s highest court for ordinary cases, that the inquiry had begun. It targets Evo Morales and his former vice president, Álvaro García Linera.
Brújula Digital and Red Bolivisión, two Bolivian news outlets, reported the step on Monday. The case covers alleged murder, abuse and torture, and deprivation of liberty.
Red Bolivisión quoted Urioste as saying the case is in an initial phase of gathering background evidence. It will follow the special procedure for officials accused of crimes committed in office.
Once that analysis ends, the attorney general’s office will send a report to the court’s criminal chamber, Brújula Digital reported. Urioste also asked the judges to keep his office informed of every ruling in the case.
Urioste took office on an interim basis in early October, after lawmakers chose him to replace the arrested former attorney general Roger Mariaca.
What Happened at the Hotel Las Américas
On 16 April 2009, police stormed the Hotel Las Américas in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia’s largest city and business hub. Eduardo Rózsa Flores, Michael Dwyer and Árpád Magyarosi were killed.
Dwyer was Irish, and the Spanish agency EFE and Germany’s DW describe all three dead men as foreigners or Europeans. Police detained Mario Tadic, a Bolivian-Croatian, and Elöd Tóásó, a Hungarian, both outlets reported.
The Morales government said the men formed a terrorist cell that aimed to destabilise it. Morales was in Venezuela at the time and later acknowledged ordering the raid, while García Linera served as acting president.
Tadic and Tóásó were convicted of armed uprising in 2015 through a plea deal, EFE reported in El Deber.
The wider case against 39 defendants closed in 2020 with the acquittal of all those still on trial. The government of interim president Jeanine Áñez, a Morales opponent, and prosecutors had withdrawn the charges.
Dwyer’s family and the survivors took the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the rights body of the Organization of American States. The commission found that Bolivia had violated the victims’ rights, Erbol reported.
Who Is Behind the Accusation
The complaint comes from Libre, a conservative alliance in Congress led by former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga. Lower-house member Antonio Pino of Chuquisaca filed it with the attorney general’s office on Friday 9 October.
Pino told EFE, in a report carried by El Deber, that the evidence includes statements, press articles and the commission’s report.
“This is not a request for revenge or political persecution, in no way. It is a request for justice,” Pino said, according to Brújula Digital.
Pino said Libre had waited because it did not trust Mariaca, the previous attorney general. The alliance is also weighing a second accusation against Morales over events in La Calancha, in Sucre, once the commission rules on that case.
How a Case Against a Former President Works
Bolivia tries former presidents for acts in office through a special procedure called a “juicio de responsabilidades” (trial of responsibilities). The Supreme Court acts as the guarantee judge while prosecutors investigate, Erbol reported.
If prosecutors find grounds, they must send a formal request to the Legislative Assembly, Bolivia’s Congress. A trial goes ahead only if two-thirds of lawmakers approve it, and the Supreme Court would then hear the case.
What It Means for You
For US investors and travellers, the inquiry adds pressure on Evo Morales, who still has loyal supporters in the coca-growing tropics of Cochabamba. He already faces two arrest warrants in other cases, which he calls political persecution.
One warrant concerns an aggravated human trafficking case in Tarija, Agencia de Noticias Fides reported. The other concerns 53 days of unrest and road blockades in May and June, and Morales is presumed innocent in both.
His supporters announced a staged march from Patacamaya towards La Paz from Tuesday 13 October against the government’s economic measures, Opinión reported. Police reinforced checks on key roads in Cochabamba, the paper added.
Travellers should check road conditions before driving between Bolivian cities, as the planned march may slow traffic.
When prosecutors opened an earlier inquiry into the killings in April 2024, Evo Morales defended the raid on his radio programme, Correo del Sur reported. He said it protected “the integrity of the national territory” and added: “Let them put me in jail.”
What Is Not Known
Neither Morales nor García Linera had responded publicly to the new step by Monday evening. Prosecutors have not said how long the evidence-gathering phase will last.
It is also unclear how the new inquiry relates to the one opened in April 2024. Whether Libre and its allies could muster two-thirds of the Legislative Assembly for a trial has not been tested.
More: Bolivia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Evo Morales been charged with murder?
No. Prosecutors opened an initial inquiry into Evo Morales and Álvaro García Linera over alleged murder, torture and deprivation of liberty. A trial would need prosecutors to find grounds and two-thirds of the Legislative Assembly to approve it.
What was the Hotel Las Américas raid?
On 16 April 2009, police raided a hotel in Santa Cruz, killing three men and detaining two. The government said they formed a terrorist cell, and survivors and relatives later turned to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Who brought the new accusation?
The conservative opposition alliance Libre, led by Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, filed it on Friday 9 October through lower-house member Antonio Pino. He said the filing seeks justice, not revenge.
Is it safe to travel in Bolivia now?
Supporters of Evo Morales announced a march towards La Paz from Tuesday 13 October, and police reinforced roads in Cochabamba. Travellers should check road conditions and local news before long drives.
Sources: Brújula Digital, 12 October 2026; Red Bolivisión, 12 October 2026; Red Bolivisión, 12 October 2026; Erbol, 12 October 2026; El Deber, 9 October 2026; El Deber (EFE), 9 October 2026; BioBioChile (DW), 12 October 2026; Agencia de Noticias Fides, 11 October 2026; Opinión, 11 October 2026; Correo del Sur, 14 April 2024.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief