LA PAZ: Thirteen people, including 12 police officers, were injured on Tuesday in clashes between Bolivian police and supporters of former president Evo Morales in the central town of Mairana, a local hospital reported.
The violence erupted as Morales’s supporters, who have been blocking roads in the area for two weeks, protested against what they call “judicial persecution” of the former president.
Maria Jimen Veizaga, a doctor at the local hospital, reported that 13 people were treated for injuries following the clashes. According to the police chief of the Santa Cruz department, where Mairana is located, officers were “attacked” by some protesters as they attempted to disperse the crowd.
The protests have escalated over ongoing legal proceedings against Morales, who faces charges of rape, human trafficking, and smuggling related to an alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl in 2015.
Morales has denied the allegations, asserting that they are part of a campaign to block his return to Bolivian politics. His supporters, primarily from native communities, accuse President Luis Arce’s government of politically motivated “judicial persecution.”
The protests have also been fueled by economic discontent, with demonstrators decrying rising prices of fuel and food across Bolivia.
The standoff between Morales and President Arce, a former ally turned political rival, took a dramatic turn on Sunday when Morales claimed an assassination attempt against him. According to Morales, his vehicle came under gunfire near Cochabamba.
A video circulating on social media shows his pick-up truck riddled with bullet holes, and his driver visibly injured with blood on his head.
Government officials contend that police only fired at Morales’s vehicle after it reportedly bypassed a checkpoint and was met with gunfire from another vehicle in Morales’s convoy. However, Morales’s supporters claim the incident was a deliberate attempt on his life.
