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.

The judge in the southern city of Tarija called for Morales, 65, to be arrested after Bolivia's first Indigenous president skipped a hearing on his possible pretrial detention for a second time.

The ruling, which was broadcast on state television, also included a freeze of Morales's assets and a ban on him leaving the country.

Morales, who rose from dire poverty to become one of Latin America's longest-serving leaders, later Friday slammed those "that persecute me and condemn me in record time."

In a post on X, he said the legal process was "biased and subservient" to the government of President Luis Arce, once an ally but now his primary political rival. 

"My accusers are not seeking justice, they want to ban me and eliminate me before the upcoming presidential elections in Bolivia," said Morales.

The case has brought thousands of the former leader's supporters onto the streets in recent months to protest the investigation.

Morales is accused of entering a relationship with a 15-year-old girl while president in 2015 and fathering a child with her the following year, claims he has neither confirmed nor denied.

Prosecutors have charged him with trafficking in the belief that the girl's parents enrolled her in the youth guard of Morales's political movement when he was president "with the sole purpose of climbing the political ladder and obtaining benefits... in exchange for their underage daughter."

The charges carry a sentence of between 10 and 15 years in prison, according to prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez.

'Absolutely forced'

The girl's father has been in preventive custody since October.

The hearing on the prosecution's call for Morales to be placed in preventive custody was originally scheduled for Tuesday but the former president did not show up, with his lawyers saying he was suffering from health problems.

On Friday, the judge rejected the medical reports to press on with the hearing in Morales's absence.

The ex-president's lawyer Nelson Cox criticized the court proceedings as "absolutely forced" and told reporters that "there is no victim" since the person involved has not accused him of trafficking.

Although Morales's whereabouts are known, police have not executed the arrest warrant issued by the prosecution.

'A political plot'

Morales claims the allegations are part of a plot by Arce to prevent him staging a political comeback.

He claims he is being hounded by the judiciary, saying that an investigation into the same allegations in 2020 was dismissed for lack of evidence.

At the time, he was investigated for statutory rape, or unlawful sex with a minor, but this time the case is focused solely on suspected trafficking.

His supporters have surrounded his political stronghold to try to prevent his arrest.

"I'll say it again, if we have to defend (Morales) with our lives, we will do it," Vicente Choque, leader of the CSUTCB union, told AFP.

From mid-October, the pro-Morales camp blocked roads to the Cochabamba region, Bolivia's breadbasket, for 23 days, causing widespread shortages of food and fuel.

Morales's refusal to give up power in 2019 after two terms led to a tumultuous exit that cast a shadow over nearly 14 years of economic progress and poverty reduction.

Forced to resign after elections tainted by fraud, he slipped away into exile in Argentina, returning home a year later.

Despite being barred by Bolivia's courts from seeking a third term, he is pursuing the nomination of the left-wing MAS party in August 2025 presidential elections.