Supporters of Bolivia’s ex-president Evo Morales stormed a barracks in main Chapare district and took about 20 soldiers captive, armed forces resources stated Friday, noting a remarkable rise in their standoff with the state.
The captive circumstance comes virtually 3 weeks after backers of Morales– the nation’s initial Indigenous leader– started obstructing roadways to avoid his apprehension on what he calls trumped-up rape fees targeted at obstructing his political return.
Morales, 65, remained in workplace from 2006 to 2019, when he surrendered under a cloud after political elections noted by scams.
Bolivia’s militaries stated Friday in a declaration that “irregular armed groups” had “kidnapped military personnel” and took tools and ammo in Chapare.
An armed forces resource informed AFP on problem of privacy that “about 20” soldiers were hijacked.
In a video clip program by Bolivian media, 16 soldiers were seen bordered by militants holding sharp sticks up.
“The Cacique Maraza Regiment has been taken over by Tipnis activists. They have cut off our water, electricity and are keeping us hostage,” a uniformed guy is listened to claiming in the video clip.
Morales on the other hand informed press reporters in Chapare that he would certainly take place an appetite strike “until the government comes… to the negotiating table.
– ‘Persecution’ and price hikes –
Despite being barred from running again, Morales wants to challenge his former ally-turned-rival President Luis Arce for the nomination of the left-wing MAS party in the country’s August 2025 elections.
Days after he led a march of thousands of mainly Indigenous Bolivians on the capital La Paz to protest Arce’s policies, prosecutors announced he was under investigation for rape, human trafficking and human smuggling over his alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl in 2015.
Morales, who is accused of fathering a daughter with the girl, has called the accusations ” a lie” and said an earlier investigation into the allegations was closed in 2020 for lack of evidence.
On Wednesday, Arce demanded an ” prompt” end to the roadblocks and said the government would ” exercise its constitutional powers to protect the passions of the Bolivian individuals” if the protesters did not comply.
His warning was interpreted by some Bolivians as a threat to use the military to end the blockade, which has caused widespread food and fuel shortages and prompted prices of basic goods to skyrocket.
“If he sends out in the armed forces, we prepare to eliminate,” Carlos Flores, a 45-year-old agronomist who is part of a group blocking a bridge near the central city of Cochabamba, told AFP.
Chapare is where Morales claimed he was the victim of an assassination attempt last week that he blamed on state agents.
In a video he shared on social media, he is seen travelling in a pick-up truck riddled with bullet holes near the city of Cochabamba.
The government said police fired on the vehicle after coming under fire from Morales’s convoy at a checkpoint set up to combat drug trafficking in Chapare, one of the country’s main coca-growing regions.
Coca is the raw material for cocaine.
Morales, a former coca grower, was extremely popular until he tried to bypass the constitution and seek a fourth term.
His supporters initially demanded an end to what they called his ” judicial mistreatment.” But the objection motion has actually grown out of control right into a broader anti-government rebellion noted by ask for Arce to surrender.
Morales’s fans condemn Arce, that has actually been in power considering that November 2020, for a sharp surge in food and gas rates and lacks that pre-date the demonstrations.
At the very least 61 law enforcement agents and 9 private citizens have actually been wounded in clashes in between the militants and safety and security pressures in current days.
Arce has actually approximated the financial expense of the clogs at greater than $1.7 billion.
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