Former Bolivian president survives ‘assassination attempt’

Shots have been fired at Evo Morales’ car, according to footage posted on his social media account Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales has survived an assassination attempt, a video published on his Facebook page on Sunday suggests. The politician was reportedly unharmed in the attack, which allegedly has left his driver injured. A four-minute video taken from the inside of Morales’ vehicle starts with him sitting in the front seat of the car next to his driver and talking on the phone. Later, the clip shows visible bullet holes in the vehicle’s windscreen. The driver appears to have blood on his head but is apparently still capable of driving. The rear windshield can be seen almost smashed by the bullets. According to Morales himself, some 14 shots were fired at the car. The caption says that the former president was about to go on his usual Sunday routine when his vehicle was intercepted by two cars in the central Bolivian town of Shinahota early in the morning. Four hooded people dressed in black emerged from the cars and opened fire on the ex-president’s vehicle, it claims. Another video was published on the politician’s Facebook page shortly after the post about the incident. It showed him sitting delivering a speech using a microphone. Morales appeared to be visibly unharmed on the footage. Bolivian authorities have so far not commented on the incident. Read more ‘Attempted coup’ reported in Bolivia Morales served as the South American nation’s president between 2006 and 2019 for three consecutive terms. In 2019, he was ousted in a coup that brought the government of Senator Jeanine Anez to power. The latter is currently serving a prison term for crimes that her regime committed during its deadly crackdown on mass protests in the wake of the power shift. Since 2020, Bolivia has been headed by President Luis Arce, a former ally of Morales. The two have recently been at odds over the future of their political force, the Movement for Socialism. However, the former president condemned a coup attempt against Arce in June. Morales is believed to have faced another assassination attempt during his first presidential term in 2009. At that time, the Bolivian media reported about the security services neutralizing what was called a “terrorist group” plotting to kill the then-leader and his vice president. Three members of the group were killed and two more arrested. They were identified as Romanian, Hungarian, Irish, Bolivian and Colombian nationals.

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