Top general arrested after failed coup attempt – DW – 27/06/2024

Authorities in Bolivia on Wednesday suppressed a short-lived coup attempt in which armored vehicles rammed the doors of the presidential palace.

Soldiers were also seen entering the building around 4 p.m. local time (2000 GMT/UTC). They later withdrew after condemnation from President Luis Arce and other officials.

Bolivian authorities arrested outgoing Army Commander General Juan Jose Zuniga after the withdrawal of troops from Plaza Murillo, where the main presidential building is located.

“We condemn the irregular mobilization of some units of the Bolivian army. Democracy must be respected,” Arce said on social media as troops began arriving in downtown La Paz.

With the coup in full swing, he appointed new military commanders from the presidential palace. They then ordered the soldiers in the square to return home.

Thousands of Arce supporters began flooding the square, waving Bolivian flags as the soldiers retreated.

“No one can take away the democracy we won,” Arce told supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace.

Army chief fired and arrested

Zuniga was automatically fired when Arce appointed new military commanders.

He was arrested shortly after the troops withdrew from the capital.

Local TV channels earlier showed footage of Arce confronting Zuniga in a corridor of the presidential palace.

“I am your captain and I order the soldiers to withdraw. I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

Rumors began circulating in Bolivia this week that Zuniga’s job was in jeopardy.

For his part, Zuniga said in television comments that he expected changes in the government and that he also intended to release “political prisoners”, including former interim president Jeanine Anez. He himself refrained from calling these actions a coup.

Justice Minister Ivan Lima said prosecutors would seek a maximum sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison for Zuniga for attacking democracy and the constitution.

Former President Morales condemns the coup attempt

Former president Evo Morales, who publicly split with his successor Arce even though they both belong to the same socialist movement, said in a separate post on X that his supporters would mobilize to support democracy.

“We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people,” Morales said.

Murillo Square in La Paz “occupied by tanks and soldiers”: Government Minister

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Bolivia has experienced the most coups and revolutions of any country in the world since 1950, and almost 200 since independence in 1825.

While the military is not widely considered to have carried out the coup, it also played a key role in removing Morales from office in 2019.

With the popular leader flirting with seeking a fourth term in office, which would mean exceeding Bolivia’s term limits, and after losing support from other key groups such as labor unions, the military has made clear that it is no longer willing to protect him in position .

Morales, who resigned shortly after this statement, and his supporters considered these actions tantamount to a coup d’état.

Under Arce, Morales’ successor as interim president, Anez, was later tried and convicted on charges related to Morales’s departure from power.

International condemnation pours in

The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell was one of the first foreign leaders to react.

“The European Union condemns all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order in Bolivia and overthrow the democratically elected governments, and expresses its solidarity with the government and people of Bolivia,” Borrell said in a post written in his native Spanish.

The leader of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, was also quick to condemn the decision.

“The OAS General Secretariat condemns in the strongest terms the events in Bolivia. The army must submit to the legally elected civilian authority,” Almagro said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government “firmly condemns the military movements in Bolivia” and offered solidarity and support to the government and society.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric also expressed “concern about the situation in Bolivia” and “our support for democracy in our brotherly country and for its legitimate government.”

Washington also responded to these reports with a call for calm.

“The United States is closely monitoring the situation in Bolivia and urges calm,” a spokesman for the US National Security Council said in a statement.

zc, msh/ab (AFP, AP, EFE, Reuters)