Bolivia: Attempted coup, army chief arrested

General Juan José Zúñiga was arrested while giving a speech to the press outside a barracks in Bolivia’s administrative capital, La Paz. He and his troops had withdrawn from Plaza Murillo, where they had occupied the area in front of the presidential palace for several hours.

“You are under arrest, General!” declared Interior Minister Jhonny Aguilera, who accompanied the police, according to footage from public television. The high-ranking officer was taken to a special police unit for questioning by the public prosecutor’s office, which accused him of terrorism and armed insurrection.

Before his arrest, General Zúñiga told reporters that he was acting on orders from President Luis Arce, who had reportedly asked him on June 23 to “prepare something” to boost his popularity. During the day, the general and his men marched in tight formation through the streets of La Paz to Plaza Murillo, where they positioned eight armored vehicles and fired tear gas at anyone who tried to approach them.

On June 27, the Bolivian government announced the arrest of 17 people, including active and retired military personnel and several civilians, on suspicion of involvement in the failed coup against leftist President Arce the previous day.

“Defending democracy”

Arce had denounced the “irregular movements of certain units of the Bolivian army” on the social network X. “Democracy must be respected,” declared the left-wing president.

An armored vehicle attempted to break down a metal door in the Palacio Quemado, the presidential residence, which General Zúñiga briefly entered before leaving. Surrounded by soldiers, he declared: “The armed forces are trying to restructure democracy, to make it a real democracy. Not for the few, not for the few masters who have ruled the country for 30 or 40 years.”

According to live images on national television, President Arce dismissed the rebellious general from the palace and immediately swore in a new high command of the armed forces. “We are facing an attempted coup by soldiers who dishonor their uniforms,” ​​Arce said.

Former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) also declared on X that “a coup is being prepared” and called for a “national mobilization to defend democracy.”

The military withdrew in the early evening. When it had left, Arce appeared on the balcony of his palace to greet his supporters, who had gathered in the square by the hundreds. “Nobody can take away the democracy we have won,” he declared.

Presidential elections 2025

Since Tuesday, rumors have been circulating that General Zúñiga, who has been in office since November 2022, could be dismissed for dereliction of duty.

In an interview with a television channel on June 24, he said he would arrest Evo Morales if he continued to run in the 2025 presidential election despite the Constitutional Court’s December 2023 decision not to allow it. “Legally, he is disqualified; he can no longer be president of this country,” the general said. “The military is the armed wing of the country and we will defend the constitution at all costs,” he added.

Bolivia’s ruling party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS), is deeply divided between Luis Arce and Evo Morales, once allies and now opponents ahead of the 2025 presidential election.

On Wednesday, condemnation of General Zúñiga’s actions was pouring in. Archbishop Vincenzo Turturro, Apostolic Nuncio to Paraguay, condemned the coup attempt at the 54th Ordinary Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Asunción and said the Vatican joined the international community in “deploring and condemning” what had happened. He also said that, given a socioeconomic context of inequality and widespread poverty in Bolivia and the entire region, there was an urgent need for integral and sustainable development.

The heads of state of Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Colombia also called for respect for democracy. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote on X: “I am a lover of democracy and I want it to prevail throughout Latin America.” Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said on X: “We strongly condemn the attempted coup in Bolivia. Our full support goes to President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora.” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned an “attempted coup in Bolivia” staged by “the extreme right with a treacherous military.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his “deep concern” and the United States said it was “closely monitoring” the situation and called for calm, a White House spokeswoman said.