Bolivia: Attempted coup and arrest of army chief

General Juan José Zúñiga was arrested while speaking to the press outside a military barracks in La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia. He had withdrawn with his troops from Murillo Square, where they had occupied the area in front of the presidential palace for several hours.

“You are under arrest, general!” declared Interior Minister Jhonny Aguilera, who accompanied the police, according to images broadcast by public television. The senior officer was taken to a special police unit for questioning by the prosecution, who accused him of terrorism and armed insurrection.

Before his arrest, General Zúñiga told reporters that he had acted on orders from President Luis Arce, who had reportedly asked him on June 23 to “prepare something” to boost his popularity. During the day, the general and his men marched in close formation through the streets of La Paz to Plaza Murillo, where they positioned eight armored vehicles and fired tear gas at anyone who tried to approach.

On June 27, the Bolivian government announced the arrest of 17 people, including active and retired military personnel as well as several civilians, for their alleged involvement in the failed coup against left-wing President Arce the day before.

“Defend democracy”

Arce had denounced on the social network X the “irregular movements of some units of the Bolivian army.” “Democracy must be respected,” proclaimed the left-wing president.

An armoured vehicle tried to break down a metal door of the Palacio Quemado, the seat of the presidency, where General Zúñiga entered briefly before leaving. Surrounded by soldiers, he declared that “the armed forces are trying to restructure democracy, to make it a real democracy. Not a democracy for a few, not a democracy for a few masters who have ruled the country for 30 or 40 years.”

According to images broadcast live on national television, President Arce dismissed the rebellious general from the palace and immediately took over a new command of the armed forces. “We are facing a coup attempt by soldiers who dishonor their uniform,” Arce said.

Former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) also declared on X that “a coup is brewing” and called for “a national mobilization to defend democracy.”

The military withdrew early in the evening. Once they had left, Arce appeared on the balcony of his palace to greet his supporters gathered in the hundreds in the square. “No one can take away from us the democracy that we have won,” he said.

2025 presidential election

Since Tuesday, rumors have been circulating that General Zúñiga, in office since November 2022, could be fired for having exceeded his duties.

In a June 24 interview with a television channel, he said he would arrest Evo Morales if he persisted in running in the 2025 presidential election, despite the Constitutional Court's December 2023 ruling that he couldn't. “Legally, he is disqualified; he can no longer be president of this country,” the general said. “The military is the armed wing of the country and we will defend the Constitution at all costs,” he added.

Bolivia's ruling party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS), is deeply divided between Luis Arce and Evo Morales, once allies and now adversaries as the 2025 presidential election approaches.

Condemnation of General Zúñiga's actions poured in Wednesday. Archbishop Vincenzo Turturro, apostolic nuncio to Paraguay, speaking at the 54th regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Asunción, denounced the coup attempt and said the Vatican joined to the international community. by “deploring and condemning” what happened. He also said that there was an urgent need for integral and sustainable development in a socio-economic context of inequality and widespread poverty in Bolivia and throughout the region.

The leaders of Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Colombia also called for respect for democracy. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X: “I am a lover of democracy and I wish it to prevail throughout Latin America. » Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also said on X: “We express the strongest condemnation of the attempted coup in Bolivia. Our full support and support for President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has condemned an attempted “coup d’état in Bolivia” orchestrated by “the extreme right and a treacherous army”.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” and the United States said it was “closely monitoring” the situation and called for calm, according to a House spokeswoman White.