Bolivia’s former President, Evo Morales

Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales recently had a harrowing brush with death, narrowly escaping an assassination attempt.

A chilling video posted on his Facebook page shows Morales sitting in the front seat of his car, next to his driver, when suddenly bullets start flying, shattering the windshield and rear window.

Thankfully, Morales emerged unscathed, but his driver wasn’t as fortunate, suffering visible injuries, including a bloody head wound.

This incident comes amidst rising tensions in Bolivia, where President Luis Arce has accused foreign entities of fueling unrest to exploit the country’s vast lithium reserves.

With Bolivia holding approximately 23% of global lithium reserves, the country’s natural resources have become a contentious issue.

Morales has accused current President Arce of masterminding an assassination attempt against him in the Chapare region, a rural stronghold of Morales’ supporters.

This allegation comes amid escalating tensions between the two leaders, with Morales leading a massive march against Arce’s economic policies and Arce retaliating by accusing Morales of trying to sabotage his administration.

The feud between Morales and Arce has been intensifying, fueled by disagreements over the country’s economic direction and Morales’ potential candidacy in the 2025 presidential election. Morales was barred from seeking another term by the Bolivian Supreme Court, but his faction of the Movement for Socialism party is pushing for his reinstatement.

The situation has led to nationwide protests, with clashes between pro-Morales and pro-Arce factions. The conflict has also sparked concerns about the country’s democratic stability and potential foreign interference.

In the video footage, Morales can be heard saying, “Papacho has been shot in the head,” referring to his driver.

Meanwhile, the authorities have not confirmed the attack, and the incident is still under investigation.

According to Morales himself, some 14 shots were fired at the car.

As he began his usual Sunday routine, his vehicle was suddenly intercepted by two cars, and four masked individuals dressed in black jumped out and opened fire.

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Morales, who served as Bolivia’s president from 2006 to 2019, was ousted in a coup that led to Senator Jeanine Anez’s government taking power. Anez is now serving a prison term for crimes committed during her regime’s crackdown on protests.

Despite the severity of the incident, Bolivian authorities have yet to comment on the matter. The attempted assassination is likely to escalate tensions between Morales and current President Luis Arce, who have been at odds over the governing socialist party’s candidacy in next year’s presidential election.

In 2023, Arce was expelled from the MAS party, and Morales announced his candidacy for the 2025 presidential election, despite the Constitutional Tribunal revoking a previous ruling allowing him to run indefinitely.

This has led to a split within the MAS party, with factions loyal to either Arce or Morales. The situation is further complicated by Bolivia’s growing economic crisis and gridlock in parliament.

Since 2020, Bolivia has been headed by President Luis Arce, a former ally of Morales. However, the former president condemned a coup attempt against Arce in June.

Marales faced another alleged assassination attempt back in 2009 during his first presidential term.

Reports from Bolivian media revealed that security services foiled a plot by a “terrorist group” planning to kill Morales and his vice president.

This group, comprised of individuals from various nationalities including Romanian, Hungarian, Irish, Bolivian, and Colombian, was neutralized, resulting in three fatalities and two arrests.

The mastermind behind the plot was identified as Eduardo Rosza Flores, a Bolivian-Hungarian dual national with a history of mercenary activities in the Balkans ¹. Investigations showed that the group had been under surveillance for months, monitoring Morales’ movements and studying his security measures.

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