Supporters of former Bolivian president Evo Morales are holding at least 200 soldiers hostage, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday, as their standoff with the state continues to escalate.
Three military units in Chapare province were “assaulted by irregular groups” on Friday, with the assailants “taking more than 200 military personnel hostage” from three barracks, the ministry said. “They seized weapons and ammunition,” it added.
Backers of Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous leader, began blocking roads three weeks ago to prevent his arrest on what he calls trumped-up charges aimed at thwarting his political comeback. The government had sent troops to the area to help police clear the roadblocks.
Early reports had mentioned only 20 soldiers being detained, but a video broadcast on Friday showed 16 soldiers surrounded by protesters holding pointed sticks. “They have cut off our water, electricity and are keeping us hostage,” a uniformed man is heard saying.
Morales, 65, was in office from 2006 to 2019, when he resigned under a cloud after elections marked by fraud. Despite being barred from running again, he wants to challenge President Luis Arce, his former ally, for the nomination of the left-wing MAS party in elections next August.
Prosecutors have accused Morales of statutory rape, human trafficking and human smuggling over his alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl in 2015. Morales has called the charges “a lie.”
The standoff has escalated into a wider anti-government revolt, with Morales’ supporters blaming Arce for a sharp rise in food and fuel prices and shortages. At least 90 people, mostly officers, have been injured in clashes surrounding the protests.
