Bolivia Police Arrest Leaders Of Failed Coup Attempt

Hours after soldiers broke into the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivian police detained the apparent commander of the coup attempt.

Key government offices are located in Murillo Square, where hundreds of soldiers and armored vehicles have positioned themselves. One armored car attempted to break through the presidential palace’s entryway.

Later, the soldiers left the South American city. General Juan José Zúñiga, the head of the occupying military, had declared that he intended to “restructure democracy” and that although he “for now” respected President Luis Arce, there would be a change in leadership.

Shortly after revealing to reporters that the military had orchestrated the intervention at the president’s request, he was taken into custody.

Gen Zúñiga, who was initially named commander of the Bolivian Army in 2022, lost his position on Tuesday due to remarks he made the day before in an interview against the nation’s former president, Evo Morales.

In the dramatic video that appeared to have been shot inside the presidential palace during the coup, President Arce was seen addressing Gen. Zúñiga and telling him to step down from his position. As the two leaders, flanked by aides, journalists, and armored police officers, spoke face-to-face, loud explosions could be heard in the background.

The left-wing figure had earlier denounced the coup attempt and urged people to “organize and mobilize… in favor of democracy. “We cannot allow once again coup attempts to take Bolivian lives,” he said in a televised message to the country from inside the presidential palace.

Pro-democracy protestors who backed the government in the streets were a clear indication that his remarks had an impact.

Reiterating allegations that Gen. Zúñiga had been fired for publicly criticizing Mr. Morales, he also declared he was choosing new military commanders. Mr. Morales demanded that Gen. Zúñiga and his “accomplices” face criminal prosecution, while simultaneously denouncing the coup attempt.

Vice-Adm Juan Arnez Salvador, the commander of the Bolivian Navy, has also been taken into custody and a criminal inquiry has been launched by the public prosecutor’s office. The precise reasons for Gen. Zúñiga’s coup attempt are still unknown. Even though the former president is not allowed to run for office again, he pledged on Monday to arrest Mr. Morales if he did so the next year.

2019 saw the removal of Mr. Morales from office and his exile in Mexico as a result of military commanders accusing him of attempting to rig a presidential election.

Declaring from Murillo Square following its occupation by military forces, General Zúñiga charged that a so-called “elite” was assuming “over the country, vandals who have destroyed the country.”

However, in an attempt to boost his flagging popularity, the general told reporters just before his arrest that the president had told him to remove the “blindados” (armored cars). In just a few seconds, he was loaded into a waiting police van. Leading opposition senator Andrea Barrientos repeated his assertions, arguing that Mr. Arce’s “self-coup” was the result of an arbitrarily declared legal and economic crisis.

Bolivia is currently dealing with a severe scarcity of US dollars, which is placing a heavy burden on the expense of life. “I will say that the government has a lot of questions to answer to the people of Bolivia, and they need to explain this situation very well,” Ms. Barrientos said. “We will say that we need a deep investigation about this situation.”

Gentle Reminder: Be careful how you use your authority and influence, be wise, and treat others with respect.

Chychy Jonas