Bolivia’s president warns of coup attempt, detains its mastermind and restores his government

Bolivian President Luis Arce struck down a short-lived attempted coup against his government, after calling on the public to “organize and mobilize” in defence of democracy. Heavily armed troops, commanded by the country’s top army general barged into the government palace in an attempt to topple the country’s left-wing government.

The military coup was attempted on Wednesday afternoon taking the Latin American nation by storm. Shortly after the troops started marching towards the country’s capital, Arce addressed the nation and urged citizens to take to the streets.

Tensions began to escalate after the troops seized control of a central square in La Paz which houses government buildings. “We need the Bolivian people to mobilise and organise themselves against this coup d’état and in favour of democracy,” Arce said in a video message filmed at the Great House of the People which is the official presidential residence.

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Denunciamos movilizaciones irregulares de algunas unidades del Ejército Boliviano. La democracia debe respetarse.

— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) June 26, 2024

Politicians unite in the fight for democracy

While delivering his video message, Arce was flanked by members of his cabinet. “We cannot allow, once again, attempted coups to claim Bolivian lives. Long live the people of Bolivia! Long live democracy!” he declared following which the ministers shouted the same slogan, thrusting their left fists into the air.

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The comments came just minutes after other members of Arce’s administration raised alarm over the matter. “We denounce to the international community that a coup attempt against our democratically elected government,” the vice president, David Choquehuanca, tweeted on Wednesday.

In a separate video message, Bolivian Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa Lunda claimed some army units had launched an attack on “democracy, peace and national security”.

pic.twitter.com/r4IJzgC7Fm

— Celinda Sosa Lunda (@CelindaBolivia) June 26, 2024

Not only this, the country’s former President Evo Morales also sounded alarm as the troops rammed into the presidential palace doors. “We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate the people,” wrote Morales. The erstwhile Bolivian leader was the South American nation’s first president of Indigenous descent.

Denunciamos que un Grupo del Regimiento Especial de Challapata "Mendez Arcos" tomaron la Plaza Murillo con francotiradores. Esto pareciera indicar que prepararon con anticipación el Golpe de Estado.
Pido al pueblo con vocación democracia a defender la Patria de algunos grupos…

— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) June 26, 2024

Interestingly, Morales himself had to flee the country in 2019 after what supporters call a US-backed coup. He eventually returned from exile after Arce’s election the following years.

Who was behind it? 

The Bolivian troops were led by Juan José Zúñiga, Bolivia’s former Army Chief. Zúñiga was dismissed from his position just a day before the coup for allegedly threatening to block a bid by Morales for reelection.

According to the Associated Press, while the troops created chaos, Zúñiga entered the palace hallway and was confronted by Arce who told him, “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination.”

The situation diffused when Zúñiga’s replacement as army chief, General José Sánchez – who was only appointed on Wednesday – ordered the soldiers in the square to return to their units. “I order all personnel mobilized in the street to return to their units,” Sanchez said from a podium at the presidential palace amid cheers and applause.

Armed vehicles were seen leaving the Murillo Plaza and soon after the coup was foiled, the Bolivian president announced Wilson Guardia and Gerardo Zabala, as new heads of Bolivia’s navy and air force, respectively.

Why the ruckus? 

Tensions in Bolivia reached an all-time high as the country awaits for the next general elections in 2025. In the upcoming political battle, the leftists are planning to pit Morales to run against Arce.

Morales, who publicly split from his one-time ally Arce, resigned in 2019 following mounting protests over accusations of fraud in the elections; at the time, he claimed he was forced out in a coup.

While Zúñiga not only threatened to block Morales’s bid, he mentioned that the army was “going to free all political prisoners” including Bolivia’s former Interim President Jeanine Anez. The former Bolivian leader is currently imprisoned for what the courts said was her role in deadly protests that erupted after her ascension to power in 2019.

What happens next? 

Soon after the Bolivian administration got a hold of the matter Bolivia’s Attorney General’s Office launched a criminal investigation against Zúñiga. The prosecutor’s office said that “all the other participants” involved in Wednesday’s events in La Paz would also be investigated.

The Attorney General’s Office said it will make “all the necessary efforts to identify all persons involved and further investigate the attempted coup d’état and impose the “maximum punishment on those responsible," CNN reported.

With inputs from agencies.