Armed attack on Evo Morales: Bolivian government reveals coca leader’s entourage fired on police first

Bolivian Government Minister (Security) Eduardo del Castillo gave this information This Sunday members of the Bolivian police were attacked by the security team of former President Evo Morales And it is as a result of that incident that the vehicle in which the coca grower leader was traveling was chased.

In a press conference, del Castillo reported that on Sunday morning a routine police checkpoint was set up by the Special Forces to Fight Drug Trafficking (FALCON). Cochabamba Tropic HighwayWhere Morales’ convoy passed but refused to stop and inspect.

“The Bolivian police ask them to reduce their speed, they identify themselves as law enforcement officers, however (…) they speed up, they draw firearms against the humanity and integrity of the police, They open fire from a vehicle against the lives of police officers Bolivia and against vehicles that were being used in the fight against drug trafficking,” the government minister explained.

Then he also said that when he was trying to run away they ran over a police officer When he fell on the ground they wanted to make him run again. Del Castillo said the police officer suffered open fractures of his tibia and fibula, and was admitted to a clinic in Santa Cruz, where he was transferred by army helicopter.

Del Castillo’s version partially matches what Morales told in his radio program, explaining that one vehicle crossed the road and the other tried to rear-end: “I said ‘this is an operation’, we attacked, we shot and they chased us“, the newspaper quoted country of tarija,

“No one who dares to shoot a police officer in this country goes unpunished,” del Castillo said at the press conference. Questioned the legality of weapons that were reportedly in the possession of the former President’s entourage,

Before the government minister’s press conference, Morales indicated on his X account that he “Deflect attention from criminal attack with false version And it is a lie that this was an anti-drug operation conducted in the tropical region of Cochabamba.”

Morales said this Sunday that he was the victim of an assassination attempt The two vehicles in which he was taken were hit by 18 gunshotsThe former president was driving to the town of Llouka Ñ to do his early morning radio program when his vehicle was chased and shot at. After being shot in the tire, Morales moved to another car that was part of his entourage, which was also shot and where the driver was injured.

Morales and his allies have held the government directly responsible for the attack. President Luis Arce and his Ministers of Government (Security) and Defense“This is not an isolated incident, it is a clear demonstration that we are facing a fascist government that seeks to attack the life of former President Evo Morales, employ paramilitary groups, criminalize social protest, and move Bolivia toward fraternity. It does not hesitate to carry out confrontation,” said a statement issued by the Avista faction of the Movement Towards Socialism.

He President Luis Arce denied his involvement in the armed attack against Morales and announced an “immediate and thorough” investigation to clarify the incident.

Shortly afterwards, a group of followers of the Koka leader went to demand an explanation from him The barracks of the Ninth Army Division where the vehicles involved in the shooting were foundAt the scene, in a meeting, which was recorded on video, a soldier is heard saying that they were “police” and that the army does not have that type of vehicles.

According to local press reports, Minutes after that conversation, the mob overpowered the military guard, entered the barracks, and set fire to two trucks.One white and the other cherry. Then surveillance was established at the military complex which would continue till Monday.

Local media showed its pictures Armed civilians arrived at the barracks and boarded a Bolivian Air Force helicopterWith the registration FAB – 782, in which he reportedly left the Tropic Region, Morales’ political and union stronghold where he is a refugee.

this Monday Third week of blockade begins with 22 pickets set up on the streetscarried out by social organizations related to Morales, who demand that the government take action to ease the economic crisis, and a faction of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) Congress approved the coca grower leader as its top leader and Declared them. A candidate for the presidency for the 2025 elections.

The measure was initially said to be in support of Morales. Criminal charges of human trafficking and statutory rapeFor the alleged pregnancy of a teenage girl while he was head of state.