“evistas and narcs”: “They Wanted to Hunt a Minister” | “Querían cazar a un ministro”

By Stefany Guzmán, Red Uno, Eju.tv:

“They Wanted to Hunt a Minister”: Zamora Reveals He Suffered Three Ambushes on His Return to La Paz

Minister Mauricio Zamora recounted that he was the victim of three ambushes during the opening of the humanitarian corridor last Saturday. He assured that the Government continues to prioritize dialogue as its main course of action.

The Minister of Public Works, Services and Housing, Mauricio Zamora, revealed that during the operation to open a humanitarian corridor he was the victim of three ambushes, a situation he described as highly dangerous and chaotic.

“We were carrying a white flag and intended to extend a hand to these people, but instead we encountered violence and a very strong information network aimed at hunting a minister. One cannot understand why, because if they had captured me, what would they have gained?” the authority said.

The first ambush occurred in the Copata sector, where the caravan made up of police officers, military personnel, and fuel tankers was met with dynamite and stones. “It was with dynamite, stones, people on one side and the other,” he stated. Later, when the delegation attempted to return to La Paz using alternative routes, the minister reported a second ambush.

“The decision was made to retreat in order to safeguard people’s lives, but at that moment the ambush took place, creating total chaos. I lost contact with my team and we had to take a precarious road to reach a safe place,” he added.

Zamora said that during the journey they suffered a second attack at night, which complicated visibility and the identification of the aggressors. Later, he said he was intercepted again in the Tilata area, where the third ambush occurred.

“I separated myself from the caravan because there were audio messages saying they wanted to capture me. I was with my adviser, the driver, the security guard, and the ministry’s communications officer,” he detailed.

The minister indicated that the SUV in which he was traveling was damaged, although they managed to escape and later rejoin the convoy until reaching La Paz. “I only felt safe again once I arrived home,” he added.

Zamora maintained that the objective of these incidents was to prevent the humanitarian corridor from advancing. “They had two objectives: to go after me and to make the corridor fail, and to some extent they succeeded,” he affirmed.

In that context, he defended the Government’s strategy based on dialogue and ruled out the use of military or police force to clear the roads. “That is not the way. There has been years of disinformation here. A confrontation would only bring death and more problems,” he stated.

He also assured that actions are underway to guarantee the supply of food to La Paz and El Alto, although he warned that the solution to the conflict will not be immediate.

Finally, he described the calls for the president’s resignation as an attempt at destabilization and reaffirmed that the Executive Branch will continue pursuing a strategy of dialogue to resolve the protests.

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