Bolivia's former leader Evo Morales has accused incumbent President Luis Arce's government of attempting to assassinate him after unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car.
Mr Morales, 65, alleged his car was struck by bullets in an early-morning ambush on Sunday while he was being driven in the rural region of Chapare.
Video taken from inside a moving car shared with Reuters shows Mr Morales talking on the phone seated in the front passenger seat before the vehicle jerks to a halt.
A frantic chase ensued, during which Mr Morales switches cars. Bullet holes were seen on both cars and the driver appeared to have been injured.
"Elite agents of the Bolivian State attempted to take my life today," Mr Morales wrote on social media.
A statement from a ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party bloc aligned with the former president said his convoy was ambushed near a military barracks by two vehicles with heavily armed men dressed in black in what it called "not an isolated incident".
"It's clear evidence that we are facing a fascist government that does not hesitate to attack the life of former president Evo Morales," the statement said, adding that bullets whizzed just "centimetres" from his head.
Mr Morales blamed Bolivian authorities for the outburst of violence, saying it was part of a coordinated campaign to sideline him from politics.
Government investigating potential 'self-attack'
President Luis Arce condemned the attack and requested an investigation.
"The exercise of any violent practice in politics must be condemned and clarified," he wrote on X. "Problems are not resolved by trying to kill people or by partisan speculation."
In a radio interview on Sunday, Mr Morales said two vehicles intercepted him on the road as he was leaving home, with hooded men firing at least 14 shots at his car, wounding his driver.
"Arce is going to go down as the worst president in history," he said. "Shooting a former president is the last straw."
He also called for the president to "dismiss and prosecute" government ministers and police officers who may have helped orchestrate the alleged attack.
A spokesperson for Mr Morales said he would hold a press conference and "present evidence connecting the government as the author in the attempt to assassinate Evo Morales".
Bolivia's Deputy Security Minister Roberto Rios insisted police had not acted against the former president.
He said authorities were investigating a theory that Mr Morales had staged "a possible self-attack", citing allegations swirling within the government he directed the assault on himself to help his own political fortunes.
Flaring tensions
The incident occurred amid a power struggle between Mr Morales and Mr Arce, his protégé-turned-rival.
Mr Morales's supporters have blocked key highways for two weeks, impeding delivery of food and fuel around the country, and clashed with security forces in his rural stronghold of Chapare.
After having served three terms as president and Bolivia's first Indigenous person in the role, the 65-year-old resigned in 2019 following a disputed election that plunged the nation of 12 million into turmoil.
The leftist icon has made a stunning comeback in the years since, drawing thousands to his rallies across the country.
Mr Arce is expected to run for re-election in 2025. Mr Morales also has said he wants to be a candidate next year, although legally barred from running again.
Ahead of next year's election, Bolivia is grappling with dwindling natural gas production, drained foreign currency reserves and rising inflation, which is increasing pressure on the ruling party and leading to increasingly messy political infighting.
Mr Morales is also facing allegations he had relationships with minors. He was formally summoned by regional prosecutors to testify in the case but did not appear, and now faces an arrest warrant.
He has denied the accusation, and remains holed up in the Chapare region, where loyalist coca growers have kept watch to prevent his arrest.
Reuters/AP/ABC
