LA PAZ, June 10, 2025 (AFP) - Bolivia's attorney general said Monday he had opened a "terrorism" probe into ex-president Evo Morales for allegedly ordering his supporters to block roads after he was banned from contesting August elections.

Roger Mariaca told reporters his office had decided to "admit this accusation" filed by the government against 65-year-old Morales, whose supporters cut off critical food and fuel to La Paz for several days this month.

Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president and one of Latin America's longest-serving leaders, resigned under a cloud in 2019 after seeking to extend his 13-year grip on power.

Since then, the Constitutional Court has upheld Bolivia's two-term limit, which Morales previously managed to evade.

And last month, electoral officials rejected his bid to register himself as a candidate for August 17 elections despite the constitutional ban.

A recently leaked audio message appeared to capture Morales urging his supporters in the country's agricultural heartland to shut down two key roads leading to La Paz in protest.

His campaign said the audio was fabricated using Artificial Intelligence.

But last week, the government filed a complaint against the ex-president for "terrorism, public incitement to crime and attacks on the security of public services" over the roadblock campaign it said caused daily losses of up to $150 million.

Some 30 police officers were injured in clashes with protesters.

The crime of "terrorism" carries a 15- to 20-year sentence in Bolivia.

- Large following -

Known to Bolivians simply as Evo, Morales rose from dire poverty to become a crusading left-wing president who oversaw more than a decade of strong economic growth and dramatic poverty reduction.

He retains a large following in the South American country, particularly among Indigenous communities.

Protests for Morales to be allowed onto the ballot have snowballed into a wider revolt over President Luis Arce's handling of a deep economic crisis, marked by severe shortages of currency, fuel, medicine and food.

Many of the protesters have called on Arce, an ally-turned-foe of Morales, to resign.

Arce has since announced he will not seek reelection.

Morales is also wanted on charges of trafficking a minor for allegedly fathering a child with a teenager in 2015 while in office.

He claims to be the victim of judicial persecution and told AFP in April he will not back down in his bid to regain power.