Coup attempt fails in Bolivia, general arrested

Led by a common pledge to “restore democracy,” armored vehicles breached the doors of Bolivia’s government palace on Wednesday in what the president called an attempted coup, prompting a brief retreat in the South American country. The latest crisis is facing a political war and a financial disaster.

Within hours, 12 million family members witnessed a rapidly changing situation in which troops seized control of the government of President Luis Arce. He vowed to raise the company and named an unchallenged military commander, who immediately ordered the troops out sick.

The fighters immediately retreated with an array of army vehicles, ending the rebellion in just three hours. Scores of Arce’s supporters converged on the square outside the palace, waving Bolivian flags, chanting a song as the national anthem and cheering.

The withdrawal of the warriors led to the arrest of military chief General Juan José Zúñiga, after which a legal professional general launched an investigation.

Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said that along with Zuniga, former military Vice Admiral Juan Arnez Salvador was also detained.

“What was the goal of this group? The goal was to overturn a democratically elected authority,” del Castillo told reporters as he announced the arrest.

“Everything is now under control,” Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo said late Wednesday. Surrounded by unelected army chiefs appointed by Arce, Novillo noted that Bolivia was going through a “failed coup”.

The apparent coup attempt came as the country faced months of tension and political infighting between Arce and his one-time best friend, former leftist President Evo Morales, over control of the ruling party. It also came amid a severe economic crisis.

The clashes have paralyzed the federal government’s efforts to deal with the industrial disaster. For example, Morales’s allies in Congress have consistently thwarted Arce’s efforts to tackle the debt while reducing one of the most powerful.

Zuniga, referring to the standoff during the rebellion, told reporters that the military was not interested in infighting and was trying to “restore democracy.”

“We are listening to the cries of the people because for too many years an elite class has taken control of the country,” he said. He said politicians were “destroying the country: look at the situation we are in, what a crisis they have left us in.” In.”

“The armed forces intend to restore democracy, make it a true democracy,” he said.

The unfolding crisis began at noon as L.A. Roads of. Paz started filling in with gloves. Arce tweeted that the deployment of troops was unusual and he and other political figures warned of an attempted coup soon after.

Nonetheless, the apparent effort to depose the sitting president appeared to lack any significant help, or even as Arce’s rivals closed ranks to defend independence and reject the rebellion.

In a twist, Zúñiga claimed in a response to newshounds before his arrest that Arce himself had instructed the general to storm the palace for a political exit. “The president told me: ‘The situation is very bad, very serious. It is necessary to prepare something to increase my popularity'”, Zuniga declared, quoting the Bolivian head.

Zuniga said he asked Arce if he would have to “take out the armored vehicles?” And Arce replied, “Take them out.”

Justice Minister Iván Lima denied Zúñiga’s claims, saying he was lying and trying to justify his actions, for which he said he would face justice.

Lima social media platform

The spectacle stunned Bolivians, who were unaware of the political unrest; Morales was removed from the presidency in 2019 after a previous political crisis.

As the crisis unfolded on Wednesday, Arce encountered Zuniga in a palace corridor, video on Bolivian television showed. “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your troops, and I will not allow this disobedience,” Arce said.

Surrounded by ministers, he said: “Here we are determined to confront any coup attempt in Casa Grande. “We need the Bolivian people to organize.”

Supporters of President Luis Arce in L.A. Pursued by soldiers as they fled Plaza Murillo near a failed coup attempt in 1919. Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photograph/Juan Carita)

In less than a year to come, Arce presented the untouched heads of military, military and air power amid a roar of supporters, and through them thanked the country’s police and regional allies for the position. Arce said the soldiers who stood up against him were “tainting the uniform” of the army.

“I order them all to return to their units,” said newly named military chief Jose Wilson Sanchez. “Nobody wants the images we are seeing on the streets.”

Shortly thereafter, armored vehicles moved out of the plaza, followed by large numbers of militiamen, police in riot gear, and a blockade outside the palace of the federal government.

The Group of American States, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, the leader of Honduras and former Bolivian leaders, along with other regional leaders, expressed concern over the incident.

Gustavo Flores-Macias, a professor of government and community coverage specializing in Latin America at Cornell College, said it was noteworthy that even as the trend spread, international leaders and organizations were condemning the coup attempt.

“If we allow disruption of the constitutional order in Bolivia, it could have a demonstrable effect,” Flores-Macias told Unutilized York in an interview with The Associated Press. “It could send a signal that if it’s OK for this to happen in Bolivia, it can happen elsewhere too.”

Protests have intensified in recent months in Bolivia over the sharp decline of the economy, which has gone from being the continent’s fastest-growing in the past twenty years to one of its most troubled.

Arce and Morales were fighting for Bolivia’s splintered Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections in 2025.

After Wednesday’s chaos, local media reports showed Bolivians stocking up on food and other essential items in supermarkets, curious about what would happen later.

However, addressing supporters outside the presidential palace, the country’s vice president, David Choquehuanca, vowed: “The people of Bolivia will never again allow coup attempts.”