Bolivia: Ex-president Evo Morales claims car was shot at

The former president said gunmen fired a hail of bullets at his car as he traveled to a radio interview. Morales blamed the current government for what he said was an assassination attempt.

Former President Evo Morales of Bolivia claimed he survived an assassination attempt on Sunday after unidentified men opened fire on his car.

Appearing on his weekly radio show, Morale said shortly after leaving home for the radio station where he hosts a weekly show, hooded men fired several shots at the vehicle he was traveling in.

"The car in which I arrived has 14 bullet holes," said Morales at a radio station in the city of Cochabamba, in the coca leaf-growing region of Chapare.

Morale then claimed a bullet passed "centimeters" from his head, before adding: "I don't know if they were soldiers or police,"

The attack wounded his driver but Morales was unhurt, he said.

The 65-year-old politician added: "This was planned. The idea was to kill Evo."

Morales blamed the attack on current president Luis Arce, a former ally and cabinet minister.

The Bolivian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Car windshield seen with bullet holes

Video footage purportedly of the shooting circulating online showed Morales' driver bleeding from the back of his head.

In the cellphone video, the front windshield is cracked by at least two bullets and the rear windshield has been shattered.

Morales can be seen in the passenger's seat holding a phone to his ear as the vehicle swerves and a woman's voice shrieks "Duck!"

The authenticity of the video could not be verified.

Morales served as president from 2006 until 2019 and was highly popular until he tried to bypass the constitution to seek a fourth term.

He was forced to resign after losing the support of the military, following an election marked by allegations of fraud. Morales then fled to Mexico, before returning in 2020.

Rivalry with current president Arce

Since a failed coup in June, Morales and Arce have been vying for the nomination of the ruling MAS party, to which they both belong, in next August's presidential elections, although Morales is legally barred from running again.

Last month, Morales led a massive march against the government's mismanagement of the economy that quickly devolved into street clashes with pro-government mobs.

His supporters have kept up their protests by blocking major roads throughout the country for two weeks.

On Saturday, the government accused Morales of "destabilizing" the country after the blockades jammed up supplies of food and fuel.

In a statement, the government said some groups allied to Morales were armed and warned about violence, citing 14 police officers wounded while trying to break up the blockades.

Morales is also being investigated for rape, human trafficking and human smuggling over his alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old member of his political youth guard in 2015.

Morales has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and refused to testify in the case.

mm/rmt (AFP, AP, Reuters)