Bolivia investigates ex-president Evo Morales over alleged ties to 2009 killings

Bolivia's attorney general has announced an investigation into former president Evo Morales, alleging his involvement in the killing and torture of European citizens during a 2009 police raid in the city of Santa Cruz.

The case centers on an operation seventeen years ago in which police raided a hotel in Santa Cruz, during which three men were shot dead: Eduardo Rózsa Flores, a Bolivian-Croatian; Michael Dwyer, an Irishman; and Árpád Magyarosi, a Hungarian-Romanian. Two other individuals were allegedly tortured during the same operation.

Morales, a leftist former leader who governed Bolivia for an extended period before leaving office, is now accused by prosecutors of involvement in the deaths and mistreatment that occurred during that raid, though the precise nature of the allegations against him specifically has not been fully detailed.

The announcement of the investigation reopens scrutiny of an episode that drew international attention at the time, given the foreign nationalities of those killed and the circumstances surrounding the raid, which Bolivian authorities characterized as targeting an alleged plot.

Morales has not yet issued a detailed public response to the new investigation. He has previously faced a number of legal and political controversies since leaving the presidency, and this latest case adds to the array of legal matters connected to his time in office.

The families of those killed in the 2009 raid, as well as governments of the countries involved, are likely to follow the investigation closely as it proceeds through Bolivia's legal system.