Coup attempt in Bolivia foiled - Two military chiefs arrested
The soldiers had advanced to the Presidential Palace with several tanks in the mid-afternoon on a Wednesday. Army Chief Zuniga stated that the military intended to "restructure democracy" to make it a "true democracy." After approximately five hours, the soldiers retreated, as observed by AFP reporters.
Zuniga was arrested and taken to a police vehicle later, as shown in footage from the state television.
The leftist President Luis Arce appeared on the balcony of the Presidential Palace and spoke to hundreds of supporters, saying "no one can take our democracy away from us, which we have earned." Previously, he had urged the people of this South American country to "resist the coup." Arce dismissed Zuniga and Salvador and filled their positions anew.
Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo described Zuniga and Arnez as "two military coup plotters" who had attempted to destroy democracy in Bolivia. The two generals had been inside the tank that had attempted to break through the gate to the Presidential Palace.
General Zuniga had promised before his arrest that he would arrest the former Bolivian President Evo Morales if Morales insisted on running for president in the 2025 elections. Morales, who served from 2006 to 2019 and stepped down amid mass demonstrations, was excluded from the election at the end of December 2023.
Morales wrote in an online service X on Wednesday that a coup was brewing. He called for a "national mobilization to defend democracy."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the events in Bolivia. The US government closely monitored the situation and called for calm, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Council in Washington.
Russia strongly condemned the coup attempt and expressed its "unwavering support" for Arces government. The French Foreign Ministry also condemned the attempted coup and called for respect for "constitutional order."
"We condemn any form of coup in Bolivia," wrote Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on X. Similar reactions came from other Latin American governments: The governments in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela called for respect for the democracy. The Organization of American States declared it would not tolerate a violation of "constitutional order" in Bolivia.
Bolivia has been deeply polarized after years of political instability. The ruling MAS party is divided due to an internal conflict between supporters of Arce and his former mentor Morales. Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, was very popular before he attempted to bypass the constitution and seek a fourth term in 2019.
He won the election but had to resign in the midst of deadly protests due to allegations of electoral fraud. After Arce won the presidency in October 2020, Morales returned to the South American country. Since then, a power struggle between the two men has ensued.
- The Presidential election scheduled for the upcoming year was a topic of concern for Army Chief Juan José Zúñiga, who threatened to arrest former President Evo Morales if he decided to run again.
- The coup attempt on the Presidential Palace involved the involvement of several armies, led by Zúñiga and another military chief, as reported by AFP.
- In La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia, the coup attempt was strongly condemned by international bodies such as the UN and the Organization of American States.
- Luis Arce, the current President of Bolivia, firmly stated that no one would take their democracy away, referring to the armed forces' attempted overthrow.
- Among the military chiefs who were involved in the coup attempt, General Zúñiga was arrested and taken away in a police vehicle, as witnessed by state television.
- Despite the attempted coup, democracy remains a priority in Bolivia, with other Latin American governments calling for respect for constitutional order and their solidarity with the Bolivian people.
- Two significant figures, Zúñiga and another unnamed military chief, were accused of plotting the coup by Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo and were subsequently dismissed from their positions.
