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The coup in Bolivia fails! Military forces are withdrawn, the general is arrested

2024-06-27 08:04:14Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The coup in Bolivia fails! Military forces are withdrawn, the general is

Armored vehicles smashed through the front gate of Bolivia's government palace on Wednesday in what appeared to be a failed coup attempt, as President Luis Arce said the country stood firm in the face of attacks on democracy and called on people to mobilize.

The soldiers withdrew along with a convoy of armored vehicles as hundreds of supporters of President Arce rushed to the square in front of the government palace, waving Bolivian flags and cheering.

In an earlier video where President Arce appeared surrounded by ministers in the government palace, he said: “Here we are, stationed in Casa Grande, to face any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize themselves".

Bolivian General Juan Jose Zuniga, who appeared to be leading the rebellion, was subsequently arrested after the attorney general's office began investigating.

Earlier, President Arce confronted General Zuniga in the corridor of the government building, as seen on Bolivian television footage. "I am your captain and I order you to withdraw your soldiers and I will not allow this disobedience," said President Arce.

Before entering the government building, General Zúñiga told reporters in the square: “There will probably be a new cabinet of ministers soon; our country, our state cannot continue like this". General Zúñiga said that "at the moment" he recognizes President Arce as commander-in-chief.

General Zúñiga did not make it clear whether he was leading a coup, but from inside the government palace, amid commotion in the background, he said the army was trying to "restore democracy and free our political prisoners".

In a message on his X network account, President Arce called for "democracy to be respected". The incident occurred as Bolivian television showed armored vehicles and a number of people in military uniform in front of the government palace.

"We cannot allow, once again, coup attempts to take the lives of Bolivians," the president said from inside the palace, surrounded by government officials, in a videotaped message sent to the media.

An hour later, President Arce announced the appointment of new heads of the army, navy and air force amid cheers from supporters. The footage showed military forces setting up barriers around the government building. The president said the soldiers who rose up against him were "tarnishing the uniform" of the army and vowed that democracy would be respected.

"I order all those who have been mobilized to return to their units," said newly appointed army chief José Wilson Sánchez. "Nobody wants the images we're seeing on the streets."

Soldiers and armored vehicles then began to withdraw from the Bolivian presidential palace.

Leaders of Bolivia's largest union condemned the coup attempt and announced an indefinite strike by social and labor organizations in La Paz to defend the government.

The incident was met with harsh criticism from other regional leaders, such as Gabriel Boric, the president of neighboring Chile, Honduran leaders and other former Bolivian leaders, as well as from the Organization of American States.

Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has experienced intensified protests in recent months due to the rapid decline of the economy. Bolivia went from being one of the fastest growing countries on the continent two decades ago to one of the hardest hit by the crisis.

The country has also experienced a high-profile split at the highest levels of the ruling party. President Arce and his one-time ally, leftist leader and former president Evo Morales, are waging an internal battle over the future of the Movement for Socialism of Bolivia, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections expected to be held in the year 2025.


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