Bolivian President Luis Arce has accused supporters of former President Evo Morales of being behind the armed takeover of military units and the hostage-taking of soldiers.
Bolivian President Luis Arce wrote on page X that “armed groups associated with Evo Morales” attacked three military units in the department of Cochabamba and occupied it, which was considered a stronghold of the former president's supporters. According to the head of state, the attackers took the soldiers and their families hostage and threatened them with death. Arce described these actions as treason.
Bolivian television showed images of a number of soldiers with their hands behind their heads surrounded by members of the armed group. A source in the Ministry of Defense told AFP that a total of 20 people are under arrest. The Bolivian military called on those responsible for taking over the units to leave each of them “immediately and peacefully”.
The tense situation in Bolivia LUIS GANDARILLIAS/PAP/EPA
Morales hunger strike
Former President Evo Morales called the attackers to dialogue with the government in a press conference on Friday. He reported from the beginning of the hunger strike to the beginning of the negotiations between the parties, without taking responsibility for the attack on the military facilities. He also called on his supporters, who have been mass protesting and blocking major highways in many parts of the country for 19 days, to lift the blockades.
“The lives of my instructors and soldiers are in danger,” said an anonymous military official.
President Arce emphasized that many of the soldiers, like their captives, are working class and family members of indigenous people in these areas.
The seizure of military facilities is another escalation of the conflict between Morales and Arc, former political allies. The dispute is intensifying in connection with the presidential elections next year, in which both of them intend to participate.
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Evo Morales Jorge ABREGO/EPA/PAP
Protests in Bolivia
Earlier this week, police and the military tried to clear a highway blockade set up by Morales supporters. In response to the intervention of the services, the protesters threw dynamite explosives at them.
Morales' supporters set up roadblocks in mid-October to pressure him to end an investigation into the former president's alleged abuse of a minor. Morales said at the time that the investigation was politically motivated. Since then, transportation disruptions have cost Bolivia $1.7 billion, President Arce said.
Arce and Morales, who are from the same party, have gone from allies to bitter enemies in months as they battle for support ahead of next year's presidential election. Bolivia is currently in an economic crisis caused by declining gas production, depletion of foreign exchange reserves and rising inflation.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA – Luis Gandarilla
