Former Bolivia President claims he survived ‘assassination attempt’ after gunmen blasted his car

THE former president of Bolivia claims to have survived an assassination attempt after a group of men allegedly opened fire on his car.

Evo Morales said shots were fired as he was being driven through a rural part of the country where residents have been protesting against the government - led by his bitter political rival - for weeks.

His vehicle was apparently hit by the gunfire as political tensions in the country soar.

Morales shared a video on Facebook allegedly taken from inside the car - sitting in the front passenger seat with two bullet holes apparently visible in the windshield, Reuters reports.

He miraculously escaped uninjured while the footage - which has not been verified - appeared to show the driver was hurt.

Morales, who led Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, appeared on his weekly radio show as normal today where he made the claims.

He said that as he was leaving home for the station, hooded men fired at least 14 shots at his car, wounding his driver.

An image released by the station - Radio Kawsachun Coca - claimed to show the bullet holes in the car's windshield.

Morales claimed that the current Bolivian government - led by President Luis Arce - was to blame for the alleged attempt on his life.

Dramatic pictures showed Morales' supporters clashing with armed riot cops in Cochabamba on Friday.

Authorities have yet to make any comment on the alleged assassination attempt in Chapare - a Morales stronghold.

The roadblocks and protests organised by his supporters have disrupted food and fuel supplies and isolated cities.

The former president's supporters argue that President Arces is attempting to sabotage his former mentor and bitter political rival.

It comes after Bolivian prosecutors this month launched a probe into accusations that Morales, 65, had a child with a 15-year-old girl in 2016, marking their relationship as statutory rape.

He has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and refused to testify in the case. 

Since reports surfaced of a possible arrest warrant against him, the ex-president has been holed up in Chapare, in central Bolivia, where he says the attempt on his life unfolded.