Supporters of the former president have been blocking roads for weeks to try to prevent the arrest of Morales, accused of rape. Now they have taken several soldiers hostage.
Armed groups supporting former Bolivian president Evo Morales have taken over several military units in the central area of the country, the newspaper writes Associated Pressciting the Bolivian Armed Forces. The rebels took military personnel hostage and seized weapons and ammunition from the Bolivian army. These incidents have increased tension in the country, where Morales supporters are trying to prevent authorities from arresting the former head of state, who is accused of rape and human trafficking.
This Friday, Morales’ supporters surrounded a barracks in Villa Tunari and took 20 soldiers hostage, the newspaper writes. The Country. A video broadcast on local television shows around twenty soldiers taken hostage by a group of farmers, who were trying to prevent the reopening of a highway that keeps the city of Cochabamba isolated (about 400 kilometers from the capital, La Paz), where Morales is located. .
#ElDato Paramilitary groups loyal to Evo Morales have taken over an army barracks in Cochabamba, Bolivia. They have reportedly captured several soldiers and are looting military weapons. pic.twitter.com/In4YDKrdJx
—The Data???? (@ElDatoX) November 1, 2024
“They cut off our water, our electricity, they took us hostage. We ask for a quick solution, do not intervene in the blockade points, since the lives of my instructors and soldiers [corre perigo]”a soldier asked.
In addition to this unit, two others were kidnapped, according to the Bolivian president, Luis Arce, who, on the social network X, criticized the seizure of places where weapons are stored. “They occupied the place where the military weapons of these units are located, which constitutes an absolutely reprehensible criminal act and that is far from any legitimate social demand of the original indigenous peasant movement,” wrote the current Bolivian president.
In a statement, the Bolivian Armed Forces already warned the rebels: “taking up arms against the homeland will be considered treason and armed revolt,” they emphasize, urging the population “to leave the barracks immediately and peacefully.”
bolivia. Former President Evo Morales escapes an assassination attempt, 14 bullets were fired at the vehicle in which he was traveling
You evistas, As they are known, violent actions have increased since, on October 27, the Bolivian authorities unsuccessfully tried to stop the van in which former President Evo Morales (who was in power between 2006 and 2019) was traveling. The vehicle was shot several times and protesters accused the government of trying to kill the former president. With the blockade of roads and armed actions against the Bolivian military, the main objective of the rebels is prevent judicial persecution against Morales and guarantee that the country’s historical leader can once again be a candidate in the next presidential electionsscheduled for 2025. However, road blockades are harming the entire population of the province of Chapare, as many trucks carrying food, goods and medicine have been prevented from moving.
Last week, around thirty police officers were injured, one of them as a result of the dynamite explosion, taken by Morales supporters to prevent the action of the security forces. More than fifty protesters were arrested, but the rebels regained control of the roads in the Cochabamba region.
We denounce before the Bolivian community and the international community that armed groups similar to Evo Morales have attacked three military units in the Cochabamba Tropics, stopping soldiers and their families, threatening their lives, although they are not…
— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) November 1, 2024
Meanwhile, with tensions rising and more and more evistas In the streets, the commanders of the different army units promised that they will not intervene to avoid being injured or having to use firearms against the population. For now, Luis Arce only guarantees that the The government “will continue to take actions aimed at restoring public order.”safeguard the lives of Bolivians, social peace, as well as the people’s right to freedom, freedom of movement, work, access to fuel, food and medicine.”
Tension in Bolivia has been increasing since three weeks ago, when former President Morales was accused by the Public Ministry of having raped a 15-year-old minor, when he was still president, in 2016. He is also accused of the crime of human rights violations. tries, for allegedly encouraging the prostitution of the teenager. Morales reacted immediately, accusing the government of Luis Arce, his former supporter, of persecution and of wanting to prevent him from running as a presidential candidate.
Source: Observadora
