Bolivian authorities have arrested General Juan José Zúñiga, the leader of an apparent coup attempt, just hours after soldiers stormed the presidential palace in La Paz.
The dramatic events unfolded as hundreds of troops and armored vehicles positioned themselves on Murillo Square, home to key government buildings. An armored vehicle breached the main gate of the presidential palace, allowing soldiers to enter, but they later withdrew.
Gen Zúñiga, who led the rebellion, claimed his goal was to “restructure democracy” and expressed conditional respect for President Luis Arce. However, he was swiftly detained moments after telling reporters that the military intervened at the president’s behest.
This statement came after Zúñiga was removed from his position on Tuesday for making inflammatory comments about former president Evo Morales during a recent interview.
President Arce condemned the coup attempt, urging the public to “organize and mobilize in favor of democracy.”
In a televised address from within the presidential palace, he stated, “We cannot allow once again coup attempts to take Bolivian lives.” His call to action resonated, as pro-democracy demonstrators took to the streets in support of the government.
In a dramatic confrontation captured on camera, President Arce was seen ordering Gen Zúñiga to stand down and vacate his role.
He also announced the appointment of new military commanders, confirming Zúñiga’s dismissal following his criticism of Mr. Morales.
Evo Morales, who also denounced the coup attempt, called for criminal charges against Zúñiga and his “accomplices.”
The Bolivian public prosecutor’s office has initiated a criminal investigation, and Vice-Admiral Juan Arnez Salvador, head of the Bolivian Navy, has also been arrested.
The motivations behind Gen Zúñiga’s coup attempt remain unclear. He had previously declared on television that he would arrest Mr. Morales if the former president attempted to run for office again, despite Morales being barred from doing so.
Mr. Morales, who was ousted in 2019 by military leaders accusing him of election fraud, accused an “elite” of taking over the country and called the insurgents “vandals who have destroyed the country.” Shortly before his arrest, Gen Zúñiga claimed that President Arce had instructed him to deploy the armored vehicles to boost his declining popularity.
Opposition senator Andrea Barrientos echoed Zúñiga’s claims, suggesting that the economic and judicial crises prompted President Arce to stage a “self-coup.” She called for a thorough investigation, asserting, “The government has a lot of questions to answer to the people of Bolivia, and they need to explain this situation very well.”
Although Wednesday’s events appear to be a short-lived and poorly executed military uprising, the incident has left the government looking more vulnerable. There is concern that others might attempt to challenge Arce’s administration through political means rather than military force.
Mr. Morales urged his supporters, particularly those in the indigenous coca-growers movement, to demand an end to the coup attempt. This show of popular support likely bolstered resistance to Gen Zúñiga’s plans, which included freeing political prisoners such as former leader Jeanine Áñez.
President Arce and Mr. Morales, despite internal political disagreements, united in their condemnation of the coup attempt. Before Morales’s presidency, Bolivia was one of the most politically unstable countries in the Americas. His tenure brought stability until its contentious end, and Arce’s election in 2020 followed a period of turmoil.
Regional allies, including Venezuela and Colombia, swiftly condemned the coup attempt and called for the preservation of democracy. Even Washington and Paraguay’s centre-right President Santiago Peña voiced their opposition to the military insurrection.
Human rights activist Jhanisse Vaca Daza expressed concerns that President Arce might use the coup attempt as a pretext to crack down on opposition.
She warned, “It will legitimize and give Arce’s government more power to arrest new members of the opposition who they deem may be a threat to their governance.”