Bolivian police arrest coup leader; president appreciates public support

Bolivian police have arrested a former general who staged a failed coup, with President Luis Arce asserting his authority over the country’s military and thanking the public for keeping up their support for the government.

The troops of Juan Jose Zuniga, who was fired earlier this week as commander of the Bolivian Army, raided the presidential palace in the capital La Paz on Wednesday afternoon and took up positions in the square outside, where key government buildings are located. Media reports said a tank slammed the palace doors.

However, Zuniga urged the soldiers within hours to withdraw, after leaders from around the world blasted the army’s actions as illegal.

The soldiers’ retreat was followed by the apprehension of Zuniga after the attorney general opened an investigation.

Bolivia’s Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said that in addition to Zuniga, former navy Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador was also taken into custody.

“What was this group’s goal? The goal was to overturn the democratically elected authority,” del Castillo told journalists while announcing the arrests.

The rebel military leader had claimed he wanted to "restructure democracy" and that while he respected the Bolivian president for now, there would be a change of government.

Arce condemned the coup attempt and called on the public to "organize and mobilize... in favor of democracy.”

"We cannot allow once again coup attempts to take Bolivian lives," he said in a televised message to the country from inside the presidential palace.

“I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

The president hailed the withdrawal as a victory for Bolivia’s democracy and addressed the country’s citizens in the aftermath, some of whom had taken to the streets in protest at the coup attempt, waving Bolivian flags, singing the national anthem and cheering.

“Many thanks to the Bolivian people,” said Arce. “Long live democracy.”

Late Wednesday, Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo said that “everything is now under control.” Surrounded by the new military chiefs appointed by Arce, Novillo said that Bolivia lived a “failed coup.”

Justice Minister Ivan Lima denied Zuniga’s claims of establishing democracy, saying the rebel leader was lying and trying to justify his actions for which he said he would face justice.

Prosecutors will seek the maximum sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison for Zuniga, Lima said via the social media platform X, “for having attacked democracy and the Constitution.”

Former President Evo Morales also denounced the military’s actions, calling for criminal prosecution against Zuniga and his "accomplices."

“We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people,” he added.

Bolivia has had a long history of political unrest since it gained independence in 1825.

The incumbent president has led an embattled government since taking office in 2020, fending off pressure from both the left and the right.

Bolivia has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.

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