On Wednesday, all eyes were on Juan José Zúñiga Macías, former commander of the Bolivian Army, who is accused of being the material and intellectual author of a failed coup attempt. Zúñiga, ratified in January of this year by the president Luis Arcehas been a controversial character both inside and outside the military sphere.
Known for his experience in military intelligence, Zúñiga was not one of the most outstanding officers in his promotion: he ranked 48th out of 65 officers who graduated in 1990, according to 2020 records cited by the Bolivian newspaper Duty. Nonetheless, Zuniga has maintained close ties with social movements and unions, which little by little allowed him to earn the nickname “general of the people”.
In his career, Zuniga He served as chief of staff before becoming commander of the Army, and was the subject of multiple corruption accusations. In 2013, a report attributed to NCO Porfirio Quispe pointed to Zuniga as the main person responsible for theft of more than 2.7 million bolivianosa fund destined for the Juancito Pinto Bonus (aimed at primary school boys and girls), the Renta Dignidad (a pension for people over 60 years of age) and military travel expenses.
The document, dated November 28, 2013 and written by Quispe, details that by orders of ZunigaQuispe handed over all the balances corresponding to said payments without knowing the final destination of those resources. The 2013 report that implicates Zúñiga also mentions threats against Warrant Officer Quispe and his family.
These allegations add to drug trafficking accusationslaunched by the general Luis Begazo, who was suspended without explanation. Begazo accused Zuniga of being involved in illicit cross-border activities since the former president’s administration Evo Morales. Morales himself also pointed out Zuniga as the executor of the “black plan” against him, a strategy that would aim to discredit him.
Beyond these accusations, Juan José Zúñiga Macías has been linked to the group called “Pachajchos”a power network within the Army that is responsible for intelligence tasks and which, according to complaints, facilitates the smuggling at the borders.
This group, created during the administration of Evo Morales, has a strong influence when appointing officer destinations and is led by the leadership of the Armed Forces. Entry into this group is highly restrictive, requiring compliance with various requirements. Zuniga He publicly admitted the existence of the “Pachajchos” group and defended his activities in military intelligence.
In 2022, the own Morales accused Zúñiga of executing a “black plan” to discredit his imagewarning about possible actions by this group against him and other leaders.
From the Government of Luis Arcethe existence of a strategy to harm Morales has been repeatedly denied, who assures that Zuniga He would have instructed the Army intelligence company to review the belongings of those who could have leaked information. “He instructed and found nothing,” declared Morales in September 2022.
