A Bolivian judge on Friday ordered the arrest of ex-president Evo Morales over his alleged relationship with a teenage girl while in office, raising the stakes in the nation’s months-long showdown with the former leader.

A Bolivian judge on Friday ordered the arrest of the country's former leader Evo Morales over his alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl while in office, with whom prosecutors say he fathered

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A Bolivian judge on Friday issued a warrant for the arrest of former President Evo Morales after he failed to appear in court over a case alleging that he sexually abused a minor.

A judge in Bolivia ordered the arrest of the country’s former President Evo Morales over his alleged abuse of a teenage girl while he was in office. On Friday, the judge in the southern city of Tarija called for Morales’ arrest after Bolivia’s first Indigenous president skipped a hearing on his pre-trial detention for a second time.

The former leader, who is accused of having a child with a minor, says the allegations are meant to torpedo his bid for a political comeback.

A Bolivian judge on Friday ordered the arrest of the country's former leader Evo Morales over his alleged relationship while in office with a 15-year-old girl with whom prosecutors say he later fathered a child.

A Bolivian judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of former president Evo Morales after he failed to appear in court over a case alleging that he sexually abused a minor. Morales, 65, is alleged to have had a child with a teenage girl in 2016 – a sexual relationship that would have constituted statutory rape under Bolivian law.