Bolivia opens probe into Evo Morales over 2009 Santa Cruz hotel raid deaths
Bolivia's acting attorney general has opened a preliminary investigation into former president Evo Morales and ex-vice president Álvaro García Linera over a 2009 police raid that killed three men. Any formal trial of responsibilities would need approval from two-thirds of Parliament.
Prosecutor opens new probe
Bolivia's acting attorney general, José Armando Urioste, has opened a preliminary investigation into former president Evo Morales and his former vice-president, Álvaro García Linera, over a 2009 police raid on a hotel in Santa Cruz. The move was announced on Monday, 12 October 2026, one week after Urioste was named by Congress following the arrest of his predecessor, Roger Mariaca, on drug trafficking and money laundering allegations. In a letter to the Supreme Court of Justice, Urioste wrote that authorities are gathering evidence against both men "for the alleged commission of the crimes of murder, abuse, torture and unlawful detention". Accounts differ on the procedural stage, with one describing formal criminal proceedings while the prosecutor's letter speaks of an early stage of gathering evidence.
The 2009 raid
On 16 April 2009, police stormed the Hotel Las Américas in Santa Cruz and killed three men: a Bolivian-Croatian, an Irishman and a Hungarian-Romanian. Two others were detained, and the two survivors later said they had been tortured after their arrest. The government of the time said the group was preparing a separatist movement financed by the rightwing economic elite of Santa Cruz, and that the men died in an exchange of fire, a version that was quickly contested. Morales was on an official visit to Venezuela at the time, and he told reporters there that he had ordered the detention of the foreigners, whom he called "mercenaries". The case was later closed under the government of Jeanine Áñez, despite doubts and allegations of extortion.
- Police raid Santa Cruz hotel, killing three men and detaining two others
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concludes Bolivia violated human rights
- Acting attorney general announces investigation into Morales and García Linera
Complaint and rights commission
The inquiry follows a complaint from two rightwing lawmakers, Tomasa Yarhui and Rodrigo Antonio. Antonio confirmed to AFP that the file is the one known as the "Hotel Las Américas" case. Families and victims took the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which concluded in 2021 that Bolivia had violated human rights, a finding that carries compensation. The case was then referred to the Inter-American Court. Antonio rejected the official account of the raid.
There was no clash between the security forces and these people.
Antonio also said the men were "executed extrajudicially" and not killed in a confrontation.
Morales's response and arrest warrants
Neither Morales nor García Linera had commented on the latest inquiry at the time of reporting. Morales is reported to be in hiding, facing two active arrest warrants that he denies. One relates to his alleged role in protests that paralysed Bolivia for 53 days, which Romanian reports place in May and June. The other accuses him of trafficking a minor, with whom he is said to have had a daughter. Morales denies both sets of allegations.
What happens next
If the prosecution finds evidence of punishable offences, it must send a request to Parliament, which needs a two-thirds majority to approve a trial of responsibilities, according to Europa Press. That trial would be supervised by the Supreme Court of Justice acting as a guarantee judge. The charges under consideration are murder, abuse, torture and unlawful detention, and no decision on an indictment has been reported. The rights case remains linked to the Inter-American Court, where it was referred after the 2021 finding.
