200 Bolivian soldiers taken hostage

(CLO) Bolivia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday (November 2) that supporters of former President Evo Morales are currently holding at least 200 soldiers hostage.

Three military units in Chapare province were “attacked by illegal armed groups” on Friday, taking “more than 200 military personnel from three barracks hostage,” according to a statement from Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry. The groups seized weapons and ammunition from the military.

Police barricades in Parotani, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Photo: AP/Juan Karita

Supporters of former President Morales have been blocking roads for the past three weeks to prevent his arrest, which he says is aimed at hampering his political comeback. The government has deployed troops to the area in Cochabamba province to assist police in removing the barricades.

Initial reports suggested only 20 soldiers had been arrested. A video aired on Friday showed 16 soldiers surrounded by a group of protesters wielding sticks. “They cut off our water, electricity and held us hostage,” a man in military uniform said.

After threatening to go on hunger strike if the government did not agree to talks, Mr Morales urged his supporters to consider suspending the blockade to “avoid bloodshed”. Mr Morales, 65, served as president from 2006 to 2019, before resigning after the election amid allegations of fraud.

Despite being barred from running for re-election, Mr. Morales still wants to challenge incumbent President Luis Arce, his former ally, for the MAS party's candidate position in the upcoming August election.

Recently, after Mr. Morales led a march of thousands of people to the capital, La Paz, to protest Mr. Arce’s policies, prosecutors announced an investigation into Mr. Morales on charges of child abuse, human trafficking and human smuggling. Mr. Morales insisted that these allegations were “lies.”

On Wednesday, President Arce called for an "immediate" end to the obstacles, asserting that the government would "exercise its constitutional right to defend the interests of the Bolivian people".

Last week, Mr Morales alleged an assassination attempt on him in Chapare, sharing a video of his car riddled with bullet holes. The government claimed police only shot at the car after Morales’ convoy opened fire at a checkpoint.

Morales’ supporters initially demanded an end to what they called a “political prosecution” against him. But the protest movement has morphed into a full-scale uprising with demands for Arce’s resignation, blaming him for rising food and fuel prices and shortages that had been occurring before the protests.

So far, at least 90 people, mostly police, have been injured in clashes related to the protests.

Cao Phong (according to CNA, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/200-binh-si-bolivia-bi-bat-lam-con-tin-post319758.html