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La Paz (EFE).- Former Bolivian President Evo Morales (2006-2019) reported on Sunday that the vehicle that was taking him to the radio station where he usually hosts his weekend show was shot 14 times by unknown assailants, wounding the politician’s driver.
The former president told the coca-growing radio station Kawsachun Coca that his vehicle was chased by two others in which the attackers were travelling at 6:25 in the morning local time (10:25 GMT) on the route between the town of Villa Tunari and Lauca Ñ, in the Tropics of Cochabamba.
At least 14 shots
Morales said he saw two or three trucks following his car, so his driver “deviated” from his path, but the chase did not stop. “That’s when I realized it was an operation,” he said.
“I was surprised, luckily we saved our lives,” said the former leader, who said he counted at least 14 shots.
The incident was recorded in a four-minute video filmed by a woman who was in the car with Morales, which shows part of the incident.
“Duck down, Mr. President, duck down, Mr. President!” the two occupants of the vehicle told Morales, while the leader of the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) spoke on the phone, trying to warn about what was happening.
That’s when the occupants realize that the driver of the vehicle is bleeding from the head, while insistently honking the horn to get through a busy section of the road.
Then, the leader of the ruling party opens the window and alerts the community members that they have been shot at and asks them to block the road so that their pursuers cannot pass.
Morales accuses the Government of Luis Arce
After the incident, Morales blamed Luis Arce’s government for what happened and said that “today the plan to try to kill him has been fulfilled,” after attempts to destroy him politically and prosecute him judicially failed.
These events occur two weeks after Morales’ followers have been indefinitely blocking roads to demand that the government withdraw the legal proceedings against Evo Morales for human trafficking and statutory rape, which they consider to be part of political persecution.
They also demand solutions to the rising food prices, the lack of dollars, the irregular supply of fuel and respect for a MAS congress that in 2023 declared Morales the “sole candidate” for next year’s elections.
On Saturday, the Bolivian Foreign Ministry denounced to the international community that these protests led by Morales “aim to interrupt the democratic order,” which also affects stability in the South American region.
Meanwhile, President Luis Arce, yesterday, relieved the high military command, with the mission of preserving the country’s internal order and democracy.
