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Supporters of Bolivia’s ex-president Evo Morales stormed a barracks in the central province of Chapare and took about 20 soldiers hostage, military sources said, marking a dramatic escalation in their standoff with the state.
The hostage crisis comes nearly three weeks after supporters of Morales – the country’s first indigenous leader – began blocking roads to prevent his arrest on what he calls trumped-up rape charges aimed at thwarting his political comeback.
Morales, 65, was in power from 2006 to 2019, when he resigned under a cloud after elections marked by fraud.
Bolivia’s armed forces said in a statement on Friday that “irregular armed groups” in Chapare had “kidnapped soldiers” and seized weapons and ammunition.
A military source said on condition of anonymity that “about 20” soldiers had been taken hostage.
Riot police arrested supporters of former Bolivian President Evo Morales during a protest in Parotani on Friday. Photo: AFP
In a video broadcast by Bolivian media, 16 soldiers were surrounded by protesters holding up pointed sticks.