Supporters of Bolivia’s ex-president Evo Morales stormed a barracks in central Chapare province and took around 20 soldiers hostage, military sources said Friday, marking a dramatic escalation in their stand-off with the state.
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The hostage situation comes nearly three weeks after backers 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 office from 2006 to 2019, when he resigned under a cloud after elections marked by fraud.
Bolivia’s armed forces said Friday in a statement that “irregular armed groups” had “kidnapped military personnel” and seized weapons and ammunition in Chapare.
A military source said on condition of anonymity that “about 20” soldiers were taken hostage.
In a video broadcast by Bolivian media, 16 soldiers were seen surrounded by protesters holding pointed sticks aloft.