Bolivia's Crime Control Force (Felcc) announced on Wednesday that Cindy Vargas, a woman allegedly trafficked and raped as a child by former socialist president Evo Morales, is missing.
The prosecutor is Under investigation Mr. Morales is a failed socialist dictator who ruled Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, and although he has already exceeded the term limit set by Bolivia's constitution, he has been accused of human trafficking during his time as president. He is accused of committing statutory rape and is leading a bid to run for president again.
Evidence found in the southern city of Tarija shows that Morales had a sexual relationship with Vargas, then 15, in 2016. Vargas gave birth to a child when she was 16 years old. Local authorities found Morales listed as the child's father on a birth certificate issued in Tarija. The investigation began in 2019 but was “frozen” until recently, when it was reopened by prosecutors in Tarija following the discovery of the birth certificate.
Additionally, Vargas' parents were investigated for allegedly receiving political benefits and official positions in exchange for “handing over” Vargas and allowing Morales to have sexual relations with Vargas, who was underage at the time. are.
José Luis Zenteno, Director of Felcc for the City of Tarija, said: announced Vargas, now 23, her 8-year-old daughter, and Vargas' mother are missing, the statement said at a press conference. Police launched a search operation to find their whereabouts.
Zenteno said Vargas and her daughter were last seen on the evening of October 2 near a school in the city of Yaquiba, which borders Argentina. According to local media, police officials did not rule out the possibility that the women entered Argentina because of its proximity to Yaquiba. The daughter was reportedly enrolled in the same school where she was last seen with Vargas.
Bolivian Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said Local media said that according to a preliminary report from Bolivian police, the disappearance case was closed “due to an attempted kidnapping of the presumed victim.”
“A few days later, the woman was nowhere to be seen. The girl, who was only 8 years old, did not return to school, so Bolivian police initiated an ex-officio case to find her.” [and] We were able to tell all Bolivians that she is alive and completely safe,” Del Castillo said.
The Bolivian minister stressed that it is impossible to provide further information as the Public Ministry has submitted two memorandums to the Bolivian Judicial Branch to suspend the case. However, he added that police believe that “this woman was a victim of Evo Morales as a child…she may be in Argentina, and considering the borders that exist between Argentine municipalities, she is in Argentina.'' He pointed out that he had been operating under the assumption that there was a possibility. Yaquiba and this brother country. ”
In testimony given to local authorities this week, Vargas' father said reportedly Morales claimed that he impregnated his daughter when she was a minor. The father, identified only by his initials “EVM,” said he didn't know how old Vargas was when she gave birth, and that he didn't live with Vargas and that he only found out about it because “people were talking about it from time to time.” ' he claimed. her mother.
The father was preemptively detained for four months in Moros Blancos prison in Tarija.
Mr. Morales was summoned to testify in Tarija last week, but refused to comply with the summons and remains “locked up” in his political stronghold of Chapare, Cochabamba. Mr. Morales is believed to be under the protection of his supporters, including local coca leaf farmers.
Mr. Morales is currently Ongoing The recent power struggle for control of the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) against Socialist President Luis Arce blackmailed This was to force his supporters to block Bolivia's main roads to prevent possible arrests as part of the investigation. Some supporters have already imposed a blockade. If the lockdown is extended, there will be severe shortages of food and other essentials, which could cost Bolivia's economy at least $120 million a day, according to the Bolivian government.
On the other hand, the Bolivian government announced On Wednesday, police were able to lift “at least three” blockades, with nine in Cochabamba, and as of Thursday morning the region was “virtually isolated from the rest of the country,” according to local media. He was said to have been isolated. report.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
