The Bolivian armed forces, with armored vehicles, withdrew from the presidential palace in La Paz on Wednesday night and A general was arrested after President Luis Arce denounced an attempted “coup d’état” against his government.
Hours before, soldiers led by General Juan José Zúñiga, recently stripped of his military command, had mobilized towards the central Plaza Murillo, headquarters of the presidential palace and Congress. A Reuters witness saw an armored vehicle bang on a door of the presidential palace as soldiers ran into the building.
In a message to the country, President Luis Arce denounced that there is an attempted coup d’état and urged citizens to come out and defend democracy.
“Today the country is facing an attempted coup d’état, today the country once again faces interests so that democracy in Bolivia is truncated,” he said.
“We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup d’état in favor of democracy,” he added.
Inside the presidential palace, Arce swore in José Wilson Sánchez as military commander, replacing Zúñiga, who called for calm and order to be restored.
The United States said it was closely monitoring the situation and urged calm and restraint.
Tensions have been rising in Bolivia ahead of the 2025 general election as leftist former President Evo Morales plans to run against his former ally.the current president Arce, creating a large gap in the ruling socialist party and greater political uncertainty.
Many do not want the return of Morales, who governed from 2006 to 2019when he was ousted amid widespread protests and replaced by an interim conservative government led by Jeanine Áñez. Arce assumed power in 2020.
Zúñiga recently said that Morales should not be able to return as president and threatened to block him if he tried to do sowhich led Arce to remove him from office.
In statements to the press, Zúñiga said that the Bolivian Army, air force and navy were garrisoned throughout the country..
“The three commanders of the forces are here, we have come to express our annoyance,” said Zúñiga. “The people ask for enough, enough of looting in our country, (…) enough of destroying our country.”
“Weight of the law”
The Bolivian Attorney General’s Office said it will begin a criminal investigation against Zúñiga and those who accompanied him in Wednesday’s events.
“The State Attorney General’s Office reaffirms its commitment to defending legality and the general interests of society within the framework of preserving our democracy,” he said in a statement.
Zúñiga was arrested on Wednesday night.
Many Bolivians came to Plaza Murillo to express their support for Arce and condemn the military action.
President “support humble people, vulnerable people who are going through very difficult times”said Yola Mamani in statements to Reuters.
“Count on our support,” he said in relation to Arce. “And this Mr. Zúñiga, let the weight of the law fall on him,” he added.
Arce has received public support from regional leaders and even conservative opposition politicians in the country, including jailed former President Áñez, who have strongly condemned the military action.
“I ask the people with a vocation for democracy to defend the Homeland from some military groups that act against democracy and the people”said former president Morales in his account on the social network X.
The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) condemned the events in Bolivia and called on the Army to respect the legitimately elected Government.
“The international community, the OAS and the General Secretariat will not tolerate any breach of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia or anywhere else,” said the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, in his X account.
