La Paz
After an attempted coup in Bolivia, the leader of the coup plotters was arrested. General Juan José Zúñiga Macías was arrested in La Paz on Wednesday, local media reported unanimously. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation against the officer and his co-conspirators. Zúñiga is accused of terrorism and armed rebellion against the security and sovereignty of the state.
Head of State Luis Arce dismissed the army chief from office and replaced the entire leadership of the armed forces. The new heads of the armed forces then ordered the troops to withdraw from the city center of the government seat of La Paz.
Earlier, soldiers under Zúñiga’s command occupied La Paz’s central square and rammed a tank into the doors of the government palace, as seen on Bolivian television. “We came to express our dissatisfaction,” Zúñiga said. In the presence of media representatives, he spoke of “attacks on democracy” without elaborating.
Morales and Arce are fighting for leadership roles in their party
“We condemn the irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian army. Democracy must be respected,” Bolivian President Luis Arce wrote on news platform X. “We cannot allow any attempted coup.”
Apparently the attempted coup was aimed at the renewed presidential candidacy of former head of state Evo Morales (2006-2019). The left-wing head of state resigned in 2019 under pressure from the military after the opposition and international election observers accused him of fraud in the presidential elections.
Morales and incumbent President Arce are currently battling for leadership of their MAS party ahead of elections in 2025. “The president told me that the situation is very bad,” General Zúñiga said on television before his arrest. “It is necessary to prepare something to increase its popularity.”
Sharp criticism from Brussels
In Latin America, the armed forces stage coups from time to time. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s, 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.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen sharp criticism of the attempted coup in Bolivia. “I strongly condemn the attempts to overthrow the democratically elected government of Bolivia,” Von der Leyen wrote late Wednesday evening on Platform X. 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 in Bolivia and reaffirm our commitment to the people and democracy in our sister country,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Chilean President Gabriel Boric wrote on news platform X: “We cannot tolerate any violation of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia or anywhere else.”
An announcement: This report is part of an automated service of the German Press Agency (dpa), which operates according to strict journalistic rules. It is not edited or controlled by the AZ online editors. Feel free to send questions and comments feedback@az-muenchen.de