The Bolivian authorities have arrested the former head of the national military, Brigadier General Juan José Zúñiga, and other suspects after an unsuccessful coup attempt in the de facto capital, La Paz.
In an interview with the Bolivian broadcaster Unitel, Eduardo del Castillo, the interior minister said on Thursday that President Arce received reports in advance about potential “destabilisation attempts” against him.
The former commander Juan Jose Zúñiga was arrested, as well as the former Navy commander Juan Arnez Salvador, del Castillo said. He said 17 people had been detained, but there were “many more who had participated.”
Soldiers stormed Bolivia’s presidential palace in the city on Wednesday. Television images showed Plaza Murillo, where several government buildings are housed, entirely taken over by military police and soldiers.
On live TV, an armoured vehicle was seen battering into the main metal gates of the presidential palace before dozens of armed personnel entered.
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The rebels appeared to reach the private offices of Arce, who was seen on state television standing face-to-face with Zúñiga, the alleged leader of the coup, who a day earlier had been dismissed from his post.
“But no one could have imagined that the next day, before the official handover in posts, there would be a failed coup in our country,” del Castillo said.
During a Thursday morning session of the Organisation of American States held in Paraguay, Bolivia’s ambassador said about 200 military officers took part in the short-lived operation.
Late on Wednesday, Maria Nela Prada, minister of the presidency told reporters that Zúñiga, in his confession to police, said the coup attempt failed because reinforcements did not arrive in time.
During the unrest, Arce made a televised broadcast with his ministers from inside the presidential palace, calling for the public to mobilise against the brigadier general’s troops. He then announced and swore in new commanders of the army.
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“Today the country is facing an attempted coup d’état,” Arce said as armed soldiers were outside the presidential palace.
He called for calm and urged that “the blood of our soldiers not be spilled”. He added: “The Bolivian people are summoned today. We need the Bolivian people to organise and mobilise against the coup d’état in favour of democracy.”
A few hours later, soldiers withdrew from the square and police took control of the plaza. Bolivian authorities arrested Zúñiga and took him away, though their destination was unclear.
Speaking outside the palace, surrounded by soldiers and eight armoured vehicles, Zúñiga had said his aim was to “restructure democracy” in Bolivia and “make it a true democracy and not one run by the same few people for 30, 40 years”.
He also said that he had met the president over the weekend and that Arce had asked him to “prepare something” to “boost his popularity”.
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On Tuesday Zúñiga was sacked from his position as army commander after a series of controversial statements he made about Evo Morales, the country’s powerful former president.
In one television interview he described Morales, 64, as a “mythomaniac”, a “demagogue”, a “bad Bolivian” and a “traitor” by nature, and also accused him of being behind a so-called “colour revolution” that was seeking to destabilise the government.
“That man cannot be president of this country again,” he said, adding that he would consider arresting the former president.
Tensions have been building in Bolivia in the run-up to next year’s general election, with Morales planning to run against Arce, a former ally, creating a major rift in the ruling socialist party and wider political uncertainty.
Morales denounced the army’s actions on Wednesday, saying the country was witnessing a coup “in the making”.
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Morales was the first president to come from Bolivia’s indigenous majority. An ideological socialist, he carried out a radical reform programme after first winning power in 2005. His initial popularity waned after his repeated attempts to abolish presidential term limits amid widespread corruption allegations.
He agreed to resign in 2019 after a disputed election, in which he was seeking a fourth term. He later claimed he had been forced out by a coup. Morales was initially succeeded by Jeanine Áñez, a conservative opposition senator, who declared herself interim president. She was later sentenced to ten years in prison amid allegations that she had illegally taken power.
Arce, 60, a moderate who is seen as a rival to Morales within the country’s leftist movement, won the October 2020 presidential election, returning the MAS socialist party to power.
Luis Almagro, secretary of the Organisation of American States, said the army should stand down and “submit to the legitimately elected civil power”.
The European Union, Spain and several regional governments also issued statements in support of the elected government.