For the past few months, Bolivia has been a victim of local terrorism, blackmail, and the hunger for power of a tyrant. It began with Evo Morales being formally disqualified from participation in the coming presidential elections. A unanimous decision of the Constitutional Tribunal upheld the ban, noting that Bolivia’s Constitution limits presidents and vice presidents to two terms (Morales had already served three). He was also forced to resign in 2019 after committing electoral fraud in an attempt to govern for a fourth illegal consecutive term.
By May 12, 2025, Morales made his intentions clear at a rally: “If they don’t allow us to run, I don’t know what will happen, the people will rise up.” At that time, Morales already had an apprehension warrant for failing to appear in court on charges of “aggravated rape with human trafficking.” He was reportedly hiding in the Chapare region, which has very little police presence.
The violence began swiftly. On May 16, a pro-Morales march broke through two police security perimeters attempting to reach the Electoral Supreme Tribunal (TSE). Police dispersed the crowd with tear gas, but road blockades soon followed, organized by Morales loyalists. On May 28, another attack targeted the TSE perimeter, this time with dynamite and stones. Police again responded with tear gas.
Soon, open threats emerged. A leader of the Intercultural groups (indigenous pro-Morales unions) blamed the TSE for the unrest and escalated to threatening the families of electoral officials:
If the central government doesn’t release, we’ve identified the traitors... We’ve identified Mr. Hassenteufel; he lives in.... We’ve also identified Mr. Tahuichi Tahuichi… Tomorrow we will make known who their relatives are, because unfortunately, if it is not by fair means, it is by foul means with you.
Legal experts and analysts began warning that Morales was prepared to burn the country to return to power. On June 4, Rudy Capquique—a former Morales supporter—released an audio recording of Morales allegedly calling for a full-scale siege of La Paz:
It’s all out, brothers; it’s the final battle. They win or we lose... Close all the exits to Yungas, the lake, towards Desaguadero, towards Aroma, and that’s it. Regarding that, Oruro and Santa Cruz will block roads. Cochabamba is already starting.
Morales denied the recording’s authenticity, but Capquique insisted, “What does Don Evo Morales want again? That the Bolivian family, the people of La Paz, will once again die of hunger. (The former president) talks about the siege of Cochabamba, Santa Cruz—just imagine—but his priority is La Paz.” According to ChequeaBolivia—a platform specializing in fact-checking—the audio has a high probability of being authentic.
On June 5, the government filed a formal lawsuit against Morales for multiple serious charges: terrorism, public incitement to commit crimes, attacks on the safety of public services, attacks on transportation safety, attacks on the freedom to work, disobedience of constitutional resolutions, destruction or damage to state property, and obstruction of electoral processes, according to Justice Minister César Siles.
Yet the violence escalated. Medical services became targets. Minister of Health María Renée Castro reported that 10 doctors and an ambulance driver were detained and assaulted at a roadblock near Japo, Oruro. One medic was beaten, whipped, and stoned. In another incident, a mother and her newborn baby were forced out of an ambulance and made to walk to the next town for treatment:
“It wasn’t just the ambulance that was attacked; the doctor, the driver, and the patient with her baby were forced to leave the ambulance, forcing them to walk to a nearby community for the next transfer; they had to walk to Colomi,” said the Minister. By June 5, at least three attacks on medical transport had been reported.
Meanwhile, RedUno reported that residents of Cruce Tiraque in Cochabamba were being forced to participate in blockades under threat of fines or looting:
“They force us to go to the blockades, fine us 100 bolivianos, and if we don’t leave, they tell us they will come and loot the markets. That’s why we went to the blockades,” said one resident, voice distorted for protection.
At this point, over 24 major roadblocks were active.
Congresswoman Krupskaya Oña warned:
These irregular groups have already taken over practically part of Bolivian territory, the Chapare, and have formed a small republic. We are requesting and demanding that the president finally assume his constitutional powers, put on his long pants, fasten his belt, and restore order.
Indeed, Morales has carved out a region—the Chapare—where he operates beyond the reach of law enforcement. Police avoid entering due to fear, and criminal rule prevails.
On June 6, police stopped a vehicle near a blockade and apprehended seven individuals carrying weapons, police uniforms, and vests. By June 7, the situation had worsened so much that the Departmental Prosecutor of Cochabamba issued a directive:
In light of the social conflicts that have been occurring in various areas of the country, the Cochabamba Departmental Prosecutor’s Office,…in order to guarantee the safety of personnel performing duties in the Tropics, instructs that the subject matter prosecutors and support staff of the Fiscal Offices of Ivirgarzama, Chimoré, Shinahota, Villa Tunari, and Entre Ríos, retreat on the same day to the Fiscal Office of Sacaba, carrying only essential items upon their withdrawal. The display of credentials or other insignia of our Institution must be avoided until the situation our country is experiencing stabilizes.
The crisis reached a breaking point on June 10 in the town of Llallagua. After a week of isolation, fuel and food shortages drove local merchant associations, neighbors, and local authorities to confront the blockade. As they approached, they were attacked with blunt objects and explosives. Police reported two people injured.
As government inaction continued, violent clashes erupted between citizens and blockaders. The confrontation in Llallagua escalated and at least 33 were injured. Assemblywoman Azucena Fuertes decried the government’s passivity:
Potosi has been abandoned to its fate, as demonstrated by the recent clashes in Llallagua. We cannot allow the Movement Toward Socialism to plunge us into a crisis. These blockades are being carried out by the radical wing seeking to enable a person’s candidacy. Furthermore, the government is not acting with the necessary rigor to intervene in these mobilizations.
Ambulances and medics attempting to reach the area were also blocked. The violence spilled into the town itself; shops were sacked; government buildings—like the Llallagua Regional Command and the Special Force to Combat Violence—were attacked, looted, and torched.
On June 11, a police force finally departed to liberate Llallagua. However, the force was ambushed with dynamites, stones, and gunfire. With a toll of more than 60 wounded, 3 police, 1 firefighter, and 1 civilian dead.
Evo Morales justifies the violence as “just and legitimate social protests.” But the violence and terror was not only unjustified but it was brutal in nature. One of the policemen dead was shot, another two were beaten to death and thrown to the river, and a fourth was beaten, tortured, and killed with dynamite. The fifth confirmed victim was not only a civilian but a youth of 17 years old who was killed trying to defend his home.
With an eventual more adequate response of police intervention the town was liberated and the blockades around the country were reduced to only one in Potosi (the department where Llallagua is located) and 12 in the whole country. Seven people were arrested after the violence in Llallagua. More police officers were deployed across the highways to reinforce the unblocked routes. Furthermore, the area around Llallagua was nicknamed “mexico chico” and presence of drug trafficking and production were identified.
The violence is far from over as Morales remains free, as blockades remain active and terror groups add on every day the new scandals and more abuses. Evo Morales’s latest assault on Bolivia is not merely a political dispute. It is a campaign of organized terror against the rule of law. Behind the euphemisms of “social protest” lies a clear pattern: blackmail through blockades, threats against judges and civilians, and the systematic use of violence to destabilize the country in service of one man’s personal ambitions. The siege of cities, the abuse of medical personnel, and the bloodshed in Llallagua are not isolated incidents—they are the price of a state too fearful or complicit to confront its most dangerous citizen. If Bolivia is to survive, it must stop treating Morales as a political actor and start recognizing him for what he is: a fugitive and terrorist tyrant waging war against his own nation.
