Charges filed in alleged plot against Morales
December 18, 2010 - Associated Press

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Bolivia's chief prosecutor has filed charges including terrorism and sedition against 39 people accused in an alleged armed conspiracy against President Evo Morales.

The charges stem from a 2009 raid at a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz in which police killed three alleged mercenaries, including a Bolivian-born veteran of Croatia's independence war.

Morales said at the time that the men were plotting his assassination.

Most of the accused have fled Bolivia. They say the charges are a politically motivated attempt to silence Morales' opponents.

Several leaders of the pro-capitalist opposition were among those charged Friday.

They include Branko Marinkovic, a soy magnate who has had land confiscated by the government.