Morales and current president are locked into a standoff for ruling party’s nomination in next year’s presidential contest

Supporters of Bolivia’s ex-president Evo Morales stormed a barracks in the central Chapare region and took about 20 soldiers hostage, military sources said on Friday, marking a dramatic escalation in their standoff with the state.

The hostage situation comes nearly three weeks after backers of Morales – the country’s first Indigenous leader – began blocking roads to prevent his arrest on what he calls trumped-up rape charges aimed at thwarting his political comeback.