According to Arispe, Evo Morales Ayma is protected and will not be allowed to be pursued or attacked again. Additionally, Arispe warned that protests and roadblocks in Bolivia will continue and predicted an increase in their scope. In his statements, he suggested that the government of Luis Arce Catacora has its days numbered.
Morales' denunciation of the attack he suffered early Sunday morning while heading to Lauca Ñ in Cochabamba to participate in a radio program provoked a crossfire of accusations. The former president recounted that unknown individuals shot at his vehicle, injuring the driver. On the other hand, Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo accused Morales of shooting at Bolivian police during a drug control operation.
Morales' supporters claimed that the vehicles involved in the attack took refuge in a nearby barracks and that their occupants, allegedly police officers, managed to escape by helicopter. They argued that the government would be involved in the incident. Morales accused Luis Arce of planning the attack, while the latter ordered an investigation to clarify the facts.
Héctor Arce, a deputy close to Morales, accused the Bolivian president of trying to dismantle the indigenous movement by targeting Morales. For his part, Víctor Choque, a peasant leader, reported that coca leaf producer organizations decided to withdraw their children from military posts in the Cochabamba region.
Morales' supporters allege that the attack aimed to capture him and transfer him to Santa Cruz to face legal proceedings against him for statutory rape and human trafficking. They fear that the Armed Forces will participate in operations to unblock roads and are calling for an end to violence in this context of political and social tensions in Bolivia.
