Bolivia indicts failed coup plotters
The Public Prosecutor's Office in Bolivia has reportedly pressed charges against the entire leadership of the armed forces following the failed coup attempt. The former commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are accused of terrorism and armed insurrection against the security and sovereignty of the state, according to the newspaper "El Deber," which cited the Public Prosecutor's Office. They face potential prison sentences of 20 years and a six-month preventive detention in a La Paz prison, it was reported.
The Public Prosecutor's Office stated that there is a flight risk for the three defendants: Juan José Zúñiga Macías (Army), Juan Arnez Salvador (Navy), and Marcelo Javier Zegarra (Air Force). Additionally, it sees the risk that the defendants could destroy, alter, suppress, or falsify evidence.
A coup attempt in La Paz failed on a Wednesday. Disloyal military personnel had taken control of the central square using armored vehicles and had stormed the government palace. President Luis Arce replaced the entire leadership of the armed forces in response. The new heads of the military branches then ordered the troops to withdraw. A total of 21 military personnel were arrested following the coup attempt, as Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo announced at a press conference. Among those arrested were the driver of the tank that destroyed the government palace door, del Castillo said.
President Arce: Allegations are Absurd
=====================================
Meanwhile, President Arce denied the accusations of staging the thwarted coup attempt against him. "How can one stage a coup against oneself or carry it out?," Arce asked during his first press conference since the coup attempt on Thursday (local time). General Juan José Zúñiga acted on his own accord, Arce emphasized. "I am not a politician who will gain popularity with the blood of the people," Arce added.
Previously, the arrested and deposed Army Chief Zúñiga had claimed that Arce had asked him to stage the uprising to improve his approval ratings. Presidential advisor Maria Nela Prada dismissed this account as "absolutely false."
According to official reports, 14 civilians who opposed the coup attempt were injured by buckshot. Some had to be hospitalized and undergo surgery, President Arce said. Politically unstable and weakened by a power struggle between Arce and his former mentor, Ex-President Evo Morales, Bolivia is also grappling with economic problems due to declining gas production.
The failed coup was described as a "symptom of significant and widespread dissatisfaction" in the country by Gustavo Flores-Macías, a politics professor at Cornell University in the US state of New York. Arce's government is very weak. It remains to be seen which dynamics the dissatisfaction in the military will produce.
In light of the failed coup attempt, the international community strongly condemned the acts of terrorism and urged for a peaceful resolution in Bolivia's political climate. The new military leadership, led by President Arce, vowed to uphold the integrity and sovereignty of the country, ensuring that such incidents would not occur again.
