Bolivia on Wednesday arrested army chief General Juan Jose Zuniga after President Luis Arce dismissed him and accused him of carrying out a failed coup attempt, according to footage broadcast on state television.
The Bolivian president urged his citizens to mobilize against the “coup” after soldiers attempted to storm the presidential palace in the capital, La Paz, amid international condemnation.
Arce said in a television message to the people while standing among his ministers inside the presidential palace: “We need the Bolivian people to organize themselves and mobilize against the coup and in favor of democracy.”
He added: “We cannot allow coup attempts to take the lives of Bolivians again.”
Earlier, Arce said on the X platform: “We condemn the irregular mobilization of some Bolivian army units. Democracy must be respected.”
General Zuniga arrested
Bolivian authorities arrested General Zuniga on Wednesday afternoon (local time), hours after military personnel stormed the presidential palace amid a coup attempt.
The scenes showed police officers arresting General Zuniga while he was speaking to journalists in front of a military barracks and forcing him into a police car before Interior Secretary Johnny Aguilera addressed him, telling him, “You are under arrest, General.”
Armored vehicles and Bolivian military personnel withdrew from the vicinity of the presidential palace on Wednesday, after Ars appointed other military commanders.
The new military command ordered the return of the forces led by Zuniga, while the Supreme Court condemned what it considered an attack on the country’s democratic stability.
New leaders of the Bolivian army were sworn in before the country’s president following the coup attempt.
Earlier Wednesday, a unit of the Bolivian armed forces took control of the central square in the capital, and an armored vehicle stormed the entrance to the presidential palace, followed by soldiers, raising fears of a military coup.
Planning to seize power
For his part, former President Evo Morales warned of an imminent “coup,” accused the (dismissed) Bolivian army commander, General Juan José Zuniga, of planning to seize power, and called on his supporters to strike and block roads.
General Juan Jose Zuniga told a local television station: “The three leaders of the armed forces have come to express our discontent. There will be a new government, and things will certainly change. Our country cannot continue like this anymore.”
“We will regain this country,” Zuniga was quoted as saying by Al-Deber newspaper.
Zuniga made these statements to reporters in the square before the attack on the National Palace.
“Stop the destruction, stop impoverishing our country, stop humiliating our army,” he said, wearing full military uniform and surrounded by soldiers, stressing that the measure being taken has the support of the public.
He continued: “We will release political detainees, including former interim president (Jeanine) Anez.”
Morales, who has publicly broken with Arce even though they belong to the same socialist movement, said his supporters would rally in support of democracy.
Zuniga was accused of seeking a coup, and declared a general work stoppage, including calling for the closure of roads.
“We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and terrorize the people,” Morales stressed.
Zuniga “controversial”
Since Tuesday, rumors have spread in Bolivia about the dismissal of General Zuniga, who has been serving as army commander since November 2022.
According to these rumours, the army commander was dismissed after making statements hostile to Morales, who was previously a close ally of Arce and has now become his biggest political opponent in the campaign for the presidential elections scheduled for next year.
General Zuniga said that he would not hesitate to arrest the former president if he insisted on running for the presidency, in a statement that contradicts the laws in force in the country.
Morales served as president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, after being re-elected in 2009 and again in 2014.
In 2019, he resigned from the presidency amid social unrest and accusations of election fraud.
International condemnation
In an international reaction, the White House announced that it was “closely” following the situation in Bolivia and called for “calm.”
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for “respect” for democracy and the rule of law in the wake of the coup attempt in Bolivia.
“Spain strongly condemns the military actions in Bolivia. We send our support and solidarity to the Bolivian government and its people and call for respect for democracy and the rule of law,” Sanchez wrote on the “X” platform.
The Brazilian government condemned in the strongest terms the attempted coup in Bolivia, which involved the illegal movement of army forces, “which constitutes a clear threat to the democratic rule of law in the country.”
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement its “support and solidarity with President Luis Arce and the government and people of Bolivia,” noting that it will enter into “a permanent dialogue with the legitimate Bolivian authorities and with the governments of other South American countries in order to reject this serious violation of the constitutional order in Bolivia and reaffirm its commitment to the right.” full democracy in the region.
While the outgoing Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, announced his solidarity with Bolivia and his full support for President Luis Arce.
“We strongly condemn the coup attempt in Bolivia. Our full support to President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora, the true democratic authority of that brotherly people and country,” he added on the X platform.