Justice in Peru ratifies the ban on Evo Morales entering the country

(CNN in Spanish) —The Second Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice in Lima has ratified the decision of the National Immigration Control Authority barring former Bolivia President Evo Morales from entering Peru, according to the judicial decision of the case obtained by CNN through a source in Peru. Supervision.

A ban on Morales' entry into Peru was imposed on January 6, 2023. Morales' lawyers, dissatisfied with this measure, filed a lawsuit, which the Fifth Constitutional Court in Lima partially announced last November, after it considered that the former president's right to… Entering Peru freedom can be affected. However, the matter was transferred to a higher court.

In this new decision – dated January 30 – the Second Constitutional Chamber concluded that the supervisory body had acted in accordance with Peru's legal framework.

“We clearly see that the actions of the Immigration Service were not arbitrary, to the point that the decision to declare the barrier to entry to Peru falling on the responsibility of Mr. Juan Evo Morales Ayma, issued on January 6, 2023, is based on the executive regulations summary sent by the General Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of the Interior (pages 97 to 173) in which Mr. Morales Ayma is identified as a promoter and participant in ideological and political events in order to destabilize the internal system and confront acts of terrorism and the Government of Peru, the document says.

“The decision taken by the Immigration Department is fully justified, since there is a report from the intelligence service that it appears that Mr. Morales Ayma has already been classified as a person dangerous to the security of the state, and this is the main reason for preventing them from entering our territory, and therefore we rule out that the motive does not exist.” “As the plaintiff and the court wrongly indicated.”

CNN is attempting to contact former President Morales or his legal team for comment.

Following the dismissal and arrest of President Pedro Castillo, who on December 7, 2022, unconstitutionally attempted to dissolve Congress, protests and demonstrations broke out in several regions of the country, especially in the south, leaving dozens dead.

After Castillo's departure, several members of Peru's Congress accused Morales, one of the harshest critics of Castillo's successor, Dina Boluarte, of being behind the protests.

In November 2021, before Castillo's departure, the Foreign Relations Committee of the Peruvian Congress approved by majority a statement declaring Morales persona non grata for interference in the country's internal affairs.