Former Bolivian president claims his car was hit by gunfire in attempted assassination

Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales said his car was fired on in what he claimed was an “assassination attempt” amid simmering political tensions in the South American country.

Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales said his car was fired on in what he claimed was an “assassination attempt” amid simmering political tensions in the South American country. Morales, who was not injured, blamed the government for the attack, which he called a “failure” that adds to the “political defeat of a government that has lost legitimacy in the eyes of the Bolivian people.” The government denied any involvement and said that an investigation had been opened. Morales said he was heading to the radio station in the central Bolivian department of Cochabamba, where he hosts a weekend program, when two vehicles intercepted his car and “four hooded officers dressed in black with weapons in their hands, got out and began to shoot.” Fourteen bullets hit the car, injuring his driver in the head and arm, Morales said during his radio show. Morales posted a cell-phone video on Facebook which he claimed shows the alleged attack. It shows the driver’s bloodied head and several bullet holes in the car’s windshield. Morales is seen in the passenger seat as they frantically drive away. Morales posted to his Instagram profile a statement from his party, Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), blaming the attack on current Bolivian President Luis Arce and two of his government ministers. The statement did not provide evidence supporting this claim.