Bolivian police were involved in a dawn shootout against a gang planning to murder president Evo Morales.Morales- who is in Venezuela for a summit of the ALBA trade bloc- said that he ordered today’s raid after intelligence reports warned of the plans against him and other senior officials. Morales added that two people were arrested and that three foreign members of the gang were killed.
Bolivia’s police chief would later add that two Hungarians were among those who were gunned down while Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said that Irish, Croatians, and Bolivians were part of the gang.
Bolivia has gone through several bouts of violence between supporters and detractors of Morales. It should be no coincidence that today’s operation took place in the opposition stronghold of Santa Cruz where one of Morales’ opponents expressed his doubts:
Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas, in remarks on La Paz- based Radio Fides, said the operation was a “show” staged by the government so it can eventually blame him and other members of the opposition for threats against Morales.Image- AFP (“Alvaro Garcia Linera (L) and Evo Morales.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, CNN, Bloomberg, UPI, The Latin Americanist, Reuters
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