Former Bolivian President Evo Morales claimed on Sunday that he was targeted in a shooting that left more than 10 bullet holes in his vehicle, injuring his driver. He accused current President Luis Arce, his rival for the 2025 presidential election, of being behind the attack.
Morales stated in an interview with radio station Kawsachun Coca in Cochabamba, that “hooded men opened fire on his car, hitting it with 14 bullets, but fortunately, he survived.” He believed it was planned to kill him.
Morales added that the attack took place in Cochabamba, accusing Current President Arce of “destroying Bolivia” and now attempting “to eliminate his Movement for Socialism (MAS) political party, by targeting his life.” “We are on the brink of a state of siege.”
The radio station shared a video showing three bullet holes in the windshield of a vehicle with Morales in the passenger seat. The driver has blood on his head, while a woman urges him to hurry.
Anyelo Cespedes, a congressman close to Morales, told AFP they had images showing a helicopter from Chimore Airport in Cochabamba transporting six individuals shortly after the incident. “We don’t know if they are military or police, but their only goal is to kill Evo Morales,” he claimed.
Cespedes added that the alleged attack came one day after President Arce appointed a new military command.
President Arce announced new appointments late Saturday, instructing the new military leaders to prioritize “national security and public order.”
Morales’s political party MAS reported that the attack occurred near a military base in Cochabamba, where men “dressed in black with long guns” fired at the vehicles in Morales’s convoy.