Bolivian general arrested after failed coup attempt

On Wednesday, local media reported that the commander general of the Bolivian army, Juan José Zúñiga, was arrested following a failed coup attempt.

The incident occurred after the Bolivian military occupied the square in front of the government palace in La Paz using armored vehicles and tried to break down the doors, a live broadcast on Bolivian television showed.

Zúñiga, who is believed to have led the attempted storming of the government palace, was charged with terrorism and armed insurrection against the security and sovereignty of the state.

The prosecutor’s office had previously issued an arrest warrant and launched an investigation into Zúñiga and other putschists.

Left-wing president Luis Arce he dismissed the top general, replacing the entire leadership of the armed forces. The new army commanders then ordered the withdrawal of troops from near the government palace in downtown La Paz.

As the coup unfolded and a tank crashed into the door of the government headquarters, Zúñiga addressed the media, saying: “Enough of the impoverishment of our homeland, enough of the humiliation of the military. We have come to express our dissatisfaction.”

In a conversation with media representatives, he spoke about “attacks on democracy”, but did not elaborate on the topic.

The attempt to overthrow the leftist government was met with immediate resistance from the country’s authorities.

“We condemn the irregular mobilization of some units of the Bolivian army,” President Luis Arce wrote on Program X as events unfolded. “Democracy must be respected.”

Former president of Bolivia Evo Morales he also condemned the military’s actions in Murillo Square, calling them a “planned coup” in a post on the X website.

A history of political turmoil

The failed coup appears to have been prompted by the possibility of a second run for president by Morales, who in 2006 became the country’s first indigenous president.

After the Constitutional Court’s 2017 decision to invalidate term limits, Morales ran for a fourth term in the October 2019 presidential poll.

The former leader of coca growers declared himself the winner of the elections, and the opposition accused him of fraud.

Unrest broke out and under pressure from the military, Morales resigned and spent a year in exile in Mexico and Argentina. His supporters spoke of a coup.

Since then, Morales and Arce, his former economy minister, have fallen out and are now locked in a power struggle for leadership of their socialist MAS party ahead of elections scheduled for 2025.

In September, Morales announced he would run for office again in 2025, but was barred from doing so by the Constitutional Court in December, overturning a 2017 decision.

“The president told me the situation is very bad,” Zúñiga said on television before his arrest. Zúñiga claimed that Arce told him that “it was necessary to prepare something that would increase his popularity.”

World leaders criticize the military’s actions

South American leaders condemned the military’s actions.

Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum called the riots “an attack on democracy,” while leftist Chilean President Gabriel Boric expressed his country’s support for the “legitimate government” led by Arce.

In Europe, Spain’s leftist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the country “strongly condemns the military actions in Bolivia.”

He added: “We send our support and solidarity to the government of Bolivia and its people and call for respect for democracy and the rule of law.”

Top EU officials also condemned the failed coup attempt.

“The European Union stands for democracies. We express our strong support for the constitutional order and the rule of law in Bolivia,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a post on Portal X.

EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell said: “The European Union condemns all attempts to undermine the constitutional order in Bolivia and overthrow democratically elected governments, and expresses its solidarity with the government and people of Bolivia.”