Bolivia - October 2024

Former President Evo Morales has accused the government of attempting to assassinate him after his vehicle was attacked with gunfire in Cochabamba. Luis Arce’s government refuted this, contending that Morales’s vehicle evaded a checkpoint established in a police operation and ran over a police officer. Officials asserted that police at the checkpoint were shot first by someone in Morales’s vehicle. The mutual accusations take place in the context of heightened political and social conflict due to division within the MAS party. Both Morales and Arce have been accused of sexual misconduct and crimes; both deny the allegations and claim they are politically motivated. A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Morales after he did not comply with an order to give a statement in an investigation he faces for statutory rape and trafficking in persons. Morales’s supporters have carried out roadblocks and organized protests against his prosecution. Clashes between protesters and police have left dozens injured. 

Sources: Infobae, Reuters, France 24, BBC, El Pais, The Guardian