Evo Morales claims he was the target of a shooting attack in Bolivia

Amid growing political tensions in Bolivia, the country's former president, Evo Morales, published a video on his social networks of the moment his car was shot at near the city of Cochabamba. Morales denounced the attempted assassination to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) shortly after the incident.

According to Morales, the intention was to arrest him because of his opposition to the country's current president, Luis Arce. In recent weeks, farmers who support the former president have staged a series of blockades on the country's roads and last Saturday (26), there were clashes against the police who were trying to unblock the country's roads.

The attack

In the video published by Evo Morales on his social networks, the driver of the car in which the former president was riding appears with a bloody head and an unidentified woman asks him to speed up the car.

For Morales, the assassination attempt took place after a failed attempt to arrest him. In the video excerpt, it is possible to hear the former president's appeal for a quick mobilization around him.

The video

It is possible to see in the images published by Evo on his social networks that he was on the phone when shots were fired at the vehicle he was in, and he says: “They are shooting at us, they are detaining us; quickly, mobilize”.

Shortly after Morales' statement, it is possible to see marks of gunshots on the front window of the car and the driver with blood on his head and chest area. According to information from a local radio, the vehicle was hit by 14 shots.

_{Video of the attack on former Bolivian president Evo Morales (Video: reproduction/Facebook/@Evo Morales Ayma)}

Increased internal tensions

In recent weeks, President Luis Arce has faced a series of protests promoted by farmers supporting Evo Morales, dissatisfied with the economic policies adopted by the government. These incidents began on October 14, demanding, among other things, an end to the persecution against the former president.

The protests also aim to protect the former president from a likely arrest due to accusations of sexual crime against a young underage girl during his government in 2015. He is also accused of the crime of human trafficking, according to the justice, which occurred in the same period.

On Saturday (26), there was a conflict on a road in the interior of the country between police officers trying to clear the roads and protesters. It was necessary to use force to unlock the closed areas.

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_{Bolivian police try to disperse protesters in favor of Evo Morales (Photo: reproduction/ERNANDO CARTAGENA/AFP/Getty Images Embed)}

Morales says protests will continue

According to the former Bolivian president, protests and roadblocks will continue indefinitely. Morales declared on Saturday (26) on a radio that “The people are honest, they don’t sell out or surrender” and that the fight will continue without the surrender of its supporters.

To date, according to Bolivian authorities, there are still sixteen points of roadblocks on the country's roads and the government claims to have sent around two thousand police officers to try to unblock the roads. In total, 44 people were arrested and 14 injured during the clashes.

Featured Photo: Evo Morales claims to have been the target of (Reproduction/FERNANDO CARTAGENA/AFP/Getty Images Embed)