An unknown gunman fired six shots at him as he arrived at his office near the Central Bank of Paraguay in Asuncion.

He said: "It's a miracle I am alive."

Zubizarretta said an armed man jumped off a motorcycle and fired six shots at him.

But Zubizarreta was not struck.

Zubizarreta said in an interview that he did not know the reason for the attack and said he had no known enemies.

He said: "I don't know why the attack happened.

"When I arrived in the parking area I saw a person walking toward me and another on the motorcycle.

"When I stopped the vehicle, and before I could open the door and get out, I heard this blast and thought my tire had a puncture.

"But it was the car's window glass exploding from the gunshots."

Alfredo Mino, the top police official in the area where the attack took place, also described Zubizarreta's survival as a "miracle."

He said police found five bullet marks on Zubizarreta's light truck.

Such attacks have become more frequent in recent years in the South American country where kidnapping and extortion are often the motives.

In April, Paraguay Senator Roberto Acevedo survived a shootout when his vehicle was attacked near the Paraguay-Brazil border, where drug-trafficking gangs are responsible for murder and insecurity.