Bolivia’s former leader Evo Morales has accused the government of his one-time ally Luis Arce of trying to kill him after his car was struck by bullets in an early-morning ambush on Sunday, threatening to ignite a political crisis in the Andean nation.
Morales, whose supporters have been organising road blockades for weeks to support the legally embattled former president, posted a video on Facebook that showed him in the front passenger seat and bullet holes in the car’s windshield.
“Elite agents of the Bolivian State attempted to take my life today,” Morales wrote on social media.
Arce, in a social media post, condemned any use of violence in politics and called for an immediate and thorough investigation.
Earlier on Sunday, Arce’s deputy security minister promised an investigation into any report “whether it is true or a lie”.
The incident occurred at a time when Bolivia is gripped by tensions. Morales supporters have blocked key highways for two weeks, impeding delivery of food and fuel around the country, and clashed with security forces trying to clear the obstacles.
Arce’s government on Saturday accused Morales of “destabilising” the country and trying to “interrupt democratic order”.
Morales’ claims drew statements of support on Sunday from regional leftist allies, including Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s foreign minister and former Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
A statement from a Morales-aligned bloc of the socialist MAS political party, itself with divided loyalties between Morales and Arce, said his convoy was ambushed near a military barracks by two vehicles with heavily armed men dressed in black.
Video shared with Reuters showed a frantic chase, during which Morales switched cars and his driver was injured. Reuters could not independently verify the contents of the video or the claims made by Morales and his allies.
A spokesperson for Morales said the former president would hold a press conference later on Sunday and “present evidence connecting the government as the author in the attempt to assassinate Evo Morales”.
In a radio interview after the incident, Morales said two vehicles intercepted him on the road and fired upon his car, adding that a bullet passed “centimetres” from his head. The MAS statement said a bullet hit the arm of the second vehicle’s driver and another grazed his head.
“If Luis Arce did not give the order for this attempted murder, he should immediately dismiss and prosecute Eduardo del Castillo and Edmundo Novillo, (Arce’s) government and defense ministers, along with all the police officers who participated,” Morales later wrote on social media.
Bolivia’s deputy security minister Roberto Ríos told journalists that police had not carried out any operation against Morales.
Morales, who served three terms as president, resigned in 2019 after a disputed election plunged the country into turmoil. Arce, his former economy minister, was elected the following year.
Arce is expected to run for re-election in 2025. Morales said he wants to be a candidate next year, splitting the once-hegemonic MAS party into opposing camps which support the current and former presidents.
The statement from the Morales-aligned MAS faction called the attack “evidence that we are facing a fascist government” and said the assailants were seen entering the military barracks and subsequently boarding a helicopter waiting on the airstrip.
Ahead of next year’s elections, Bolivia is grappling with dwindling natural gas production, drained foreign currency reserves and rising inflation, which is increasing pressure on the ruling party and leading to increasingly messy political infighting.
Morales is also facing allegations that he had relationships with minors. He was formally summoned by regional prosecutors to testify in the case but did not appear, and now faces an arrest warrant. Morales has denied the accusations.