ボリビア元大統領支持者ら、警官を爆破 政府発表

【ラパスＡＦＰ＝時事】ボリビア政府は１２日、デモ参加者に人質にされた警官が爆発物で爆破されたと発表した。これは、国とエボ・モラレス元大統領の支持者との対立が激化していることを示している。（写真は、ボリビアのコチャバンバ県ピルケ近郊で、道路を封鎖したエボ・モラレス元大統領の支持者と衝突する兵士と機動隊）
　ジョニー・アギレラ内務副大臣は記者団に対し、警官１人が「暴徒に拉致され」、抗議者たちが警官の体にダイナマイトを仕掛けて爆発させ、殺害したと語った。
　この残虐な攻撃は南西部の鉱山の町リャジャグアで発生した。この町では１１日にも、道路封鎖を解除するために派遣された３人の警官が射殺された。
　食料と水の不足に不満を持つ地元住民が自らバリケードを撤去しようとした後、警察が介入し、１７人が負傷する衝突が発生した。
　ロベルト・リオス内相は、中部のコチャバンバ県では爆発物を扱っていた農民が死亡したと述べた。
　保健省によると、リャジャグアとコチャバンバでの衝突で計５４人が負傷した。負傷者の中には数人の警官も含まれている。
　モラレス元大統領の弁護士は、抗議参加者のうち３人が死亡し、２人が射殺されたと発表した。
　２００６年から１９年までボリビアを率いたモラレス氏の支持者たちは、８月１７日の大統領選挙への同氏の出馬が認められなかったことに抗議して、６月２日から同国中部と南部の主要道路を封鎖している。
　その後、抗議はルイス・アルセ大統領に対する広範な反乱に発展。深刻な経済危機への対応をめぐって大統領の辞任を求める声が高まっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/06/13-17:35）

A Bolivian policeman taken hostage by demonstrators was blown up with explosives, the government said Thursday, marking a dramatic escalation in the state's standoff with backers of ex-president Evo Morales.
Clashes between police and Morales's backers, who are demanding that he be given a shot to return to power, have left at least five dead, including four officers, according to officials.
The protests, which began over a week ago, have also grown into a wider revolt against incumbent President Luis Arce, marked by calls for his resignation over his handling of a severe economic crisis.
Deputy Interior Minister Jhonny Aguilera told reporters that officer Christian Calle was kidnapped by a mob and killed after protesters inserted dynamite in his body and detonated it.
The grisly attack took place in Llallagua, a mining town in the country's southwest, where three officers deployed to clear a roadblock were shot dead on Wednesday.
The police moved in after local residents, complaining of food and water shortages, had themselves tried to dismantle the barricades, triggering clashes that left 17 injured.
Elsewhere, in the central Cochabamba region, a farmer was killed while handling explosives, Interior Minister Roberto Rios said.
In all, 54 people have been injured in clashes in Llallagua and Cochabamba, the health ministry said.
The wounded include several officers.
- 'Unacceptable' -
Rios blasted the unacceptable levels of violence against the police, saying they were being killed by protesters armed with big rifles.
Morales's lawyer Nelson Cox gave a toll of three killed among the protesters and said two had been shot dead.
Supporters of Morales, who led the Andean country from 2006 to 2019, began blocking key roads in the center and south of the country on June 2 over the refusal by electoral authorities to register his candidacy in August 17 elections.
On Thursday evening, military contingents arrived in Llallagua. Aguilera had earlier said they would be sent in to guarantee a state of calm and of peace.
President Arce meanwhile said that a day of joint operations by police and the Army had managed to open up the highways connecting La Paz, Oruro and Cochabamba.
But more roadblocks remained on roads connecting Cochabamba with Santa Cruz, the country's wealthiest department.
Jan Jarab, the UN human rights office's regional representative for South America called for an impartial and thorough investigation to ensure accountability for the deaths.
Morales, 65, has been barred by the Constitutional Court from seeking re-election but nevertheless attempted, in vain, to register as a candidate last month.
The government accuses him of trying to sabotage the election by calling for blockades to sow chaos.
The protesters' goal is to encircle La Paz to force it into submission through hunger, President Arce said Wednesday as he announced a joint police and military operation against the blockades.
On Monday, the attorney general said Morales was under investigation for terrorism for allegedly inciting the protests.
Bolivia's first Indigenous president has been holed up in his stronghold of Cochabamba since October to avoid arrest on charges of trafficking a minor.
The charges relate to Morales's alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old with whom he is accused of fathering a child while in office. He denies the charges.
Morales retains a large following in the South American country, particularly among Indigenous communities.