Bolivia accuses ex-president Morales of a 'staged' assassination attempt

The Bolivian government on Monday accused former President Evo Morales of attempting an attempt on his own life Shots were fired at his car on Sunday came after he tried to run a police checkpoint.

“Mr. Morales, no one believes the theater you have performed,” Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo said at a news conference.

He added that Morales, who claims the government tried to kill him, “should answer … for the crime of attempted murder” of a police officer.

Del Castillo claimed that the car Morales was driving failed to stop at a checkpoint set up by police to combat drug trafficking in the central province of Chapare, one of the largest producers of coca, the raw material for cocaine.

Evo Morales in a car on Sunday. Photo obtained by Reuters

He said police motioned for the vehicle to slow down and stop, but the driver instead accelerated and “shots were fired from a vehicle.”