Acting attorney general José Armando Urioste announced the evo morales investigation on Monday, just one week into the job, targeting the country's leftist former president over the murder and torture of European citizens during a 2009 police operation.

The 2009 Santa Cruz hotel raid

Police raided a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz in 2009, shooting dead three men: Eduardo Rózsa Flores, a Bolivian-Croatian, Michael Dwyer, an Irishman, and Árpád Magyarosi, a Hungarian-Romanian.

• •Bolivian-Croatian Mario Tadic survived the raid and reported being tortured after his arrest
• •Elöd Tóásó, from Hungary, also survived and reported torture in detention

At the time, the Morales government claimed Rózsa Flores was leading efforts to promote a separatist movement, funded by Santa Cruz's rightwing economic elite.

What the investigation alleges

In a letter to the supreme court, Urioste said evidence was being gathered against Morales and former vice-president Álvaro García Linera. He cited "the alleged commission of the crimes of murder, abuse, torture and unlawful detention".

The probe follows a complaint filed by rightwing lawmakers Tomasa Yarhui and Rodrigo Antonio.

Morales's account and earlier findings

At the time of the raid, Morales, on an official visit to Venezuela, said he had ordered the detention of the foreigners, whom he called "mercenaries".

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concluded in 2021 that the government had violated human rights in the case.

Where Morales stands now

Neither Morales nor García Linera has commented on the latest inquiry. Morales, the first Indigenous person to lead Bolivia, is in hiding from two active arrest warrants: one over protests that paralysed the country for 53 days this year, and one accusing him of trafficking a minor with whom he allegedly had a daughter. He denies the allegations.

For related coverage of bolivia arrest warrants, see the Bolivian justice ministry.