Politics General arrested after coup attempt in Bolivia
Following an attempted coup d'état in Bolivia, the leader of the coup plotters has been arrested. General Juan José Zúñiga Macías was arrested in La Paz on Wednesday, according to local media reports. The public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the officer and his co-conspirators. Zúñiga is accused of terrorism and armed insurrection against the security and sovereignty of the state.
27.06.2024, 03:08
SDA
Head of state Luis Arce removed the army chief from office and replaced the entire leadership of the armed forces. The new chiefs of the armed forces then ordered the withdrawal of troops from the city center of the seat of government, La Paz.
Previously, soldiers under Zúñiga's command had occupied the central square of La Paz and rammed the doors of the government palace with a tank, as seen on Bolivian television. "We have come to express our displeasure," said Zúñiga. In front of media representatives, he spoke of "attacks on democracy", without elaborating.
"We condemn the irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian army. Democracy must be respected," wrote Bolivian President Luis Arce on the news platform X. "We cannot allow coup attempts."
The attempted coup was apparently directed against a renewed presidential candidacy by former head of state Evo Morales (2006-2019). The left-wing head of state resigned in 2019 under pressure from the military after being accused of fraud in the presidential election by the opposition and international election observers.
Morales and the incumbent head of state Arce are currently fighting for the leadership role in their party MAS ahead of the elections in 2025. "The president told me that the situation is very bad," said General Zúñiga on television before his arrest. "It was necessary to prepare something to increase his popularity."
In Latin America, the armed forces stage coups from time to time. In the 1970s and 1980s in particular, many states in the region were ruled by military juntas. In Argentina, Chile and Brazil, tens of thousands of people fell victim to their tyranny.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sharply criticized the attempted coup in Bolivia. "I strongly condemn the attempts to overthrow the democratically elected government of Bolivia," von der Leyen wrote on Platform X late on Wednesday evening. The European Union stands on the side of the democracies.
Several Latin American presidents also condemned the military's move. "We condemn any form of coup d'état in Bolivia and reaffirm our commitment to the people and democracy in our brother country," said Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Chile's President Gabriel Boric wrote on the news platform X: "We cannot tolerate any violation of the lawful constitutional order in Bolivia or elsewhere."
