So far, there are already 21 soldiers captured as part of the investigations underway in the Andean nation
Aníbal Aguilar was identified as the ideologue of the failed military coup by its leader, former Army chief Juan José Zúñiga. (Photo: PL)
Pastor Aníbal Aguilar, a member of the National Christian Council, was identified this Friday as the mastermind behind the failed military coup last Wednesday in Bolivia, according to its leader, former Army chief Juan José Zúñiga.
“(…) The ideologist was Mr. Aníbal Aguilar, who had been making presentations and analyses in my office since May (…)”, Zúñiga confessed during police questioning, according to reports.
According to the arrested soldier, Aguilar told him that he should carry out an uprising and go to Plaza Murillo to take power and call elections.
The Bolivian press reports, meanwhile, that Aguilar made appearances as an analyst in the media and identified himself as an international expert in planning, strategic management and investment promotion.
They add that, on social media, Aguilar shared his opinions expressed in texts and videos on his personal account and that of the organization Bolivia Viable.
These posts were mainly about national defense and geopolitics, with a focus on natural resources.
It highlighted historical episodes of the Armed Forces and raised its warnings of alleged Chilean intentions to appropriate Bolivia’s natural resources.
From a family point of view, the Bolivian media identify him as the brother of former Minister of Education Roberto Aguilar (2008-2019).
His father, Aníbal Aguilar Peñarrieta, was a well-known leader of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement and lawyer of the Bolivian Workers’ Central, who together with Juan Del Granado initiated the trial of former dictator Luis García Meza in the former Supreme Court of Justice, in the city of Sucre.
According to Pastor Luis Aruquipa, a representative of the National Christian Council, the now arrested ideologist of the failed coup was a professor at universities, giving classes in diploma and master’s courses to the military.
After his arrest, Zúñiga revealed that he had been plotting the coup operation since May together with the then general commanders of the Navy and Air Force, as well as the inspector, the head of Intelligence and the head of Logistics of the Army.
So far, there are already 21 soldiers captured as part of the ongoing investigations, investigated for the alleged commission of the crimes of “armed uprising, attack against the president and destruction of public and private property.”
