LA PAZ: The government of Bolivian President Evo Morales has gone to court to establish whether a child he fathered out of wedlock is alive or dead, the latest twist in a high-level scandal gripping the Latin American country.

Morales previously acknowledged he had a child with his ex-girlfriend Gabriela Zapata during a two year affair but claims she told him the infant died shortly after birth.

Zapata is now at the center of a corruption scandal shaking his administration, and in a plot worthy of a telenovela, her aunt revealed last week that the child was not dead, but alive and well.

The 56-year-old Morales, through the government and directly, has voiced doubts and is now seeking the final word on the matter through the courts.

“We are absolutely convinced that sadly, the boy has passed away,” Defense Minister Reymi Ferreira said Tuesday. He said Morales asked for Zapata’s family to prove any claim to the contrary.

“An appeal has been filed with the child magistrate, calling for the child to be produced by the family, privately, within five days,” Ferreira added.