Bolivia’s ex-leader Evo Morales reappears after months-long unexplained absence

<p>Long-serving socialist former leader Evo Morales has reappeared in his political stronghold after almost seven weeks of unexplained absence</p><p>Bolivia’s long-serving socialist former leader, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/evo-morales">Evo Morales</a>, reappeared on Thursday in his political stronghold of the tropics after almost seven weeks of unexplained absence, endorsing candidates for upcoming regional elections and quieting rumours he had fled the country in the wake of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/03/explosions-reported-venezuela-caracas">US seizure of his ally</a>, Venezuela’s ex-president <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/nicolas-maduro">Nicolás Maduro</a>.</p><p>The weeks of hand-wringing over Morales’ fate showed how little the Andean country knows about what’s happening in the remote Chapare region, where the former president has spent the past year <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/08/bolivia-evo-morales">evading an arrest warrant</a> on human trafficking charges, and how vulnerable it is to fears about US president Donald Trump’s potential future foreign escapades.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/20/bolivia-evo-morales-public-appearance">Continue reading...</a>