General Arrested In Bolivia After Failed Attempted Coup d'Etat
3- 27.06.2024, 7:35
- 9,012
PHOTO: TWITTER.COM
A new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces has been appointed.
The military have left the presidential palace in the Bolivian city of La Paz, where they broke into on Wednesday as high-ranking General Juan Jose Zuniga attempted to launch a coup d'état. The military commander himself, already former, was arrested.
This is reported by Reuters.
General Jose Wilson Sanchez, appointed earlier today by President Luis Arce's decision as the new commander-in-chief of the Bolivian Armed Forces to replace Zuniga, called for peace and a return to order.
"I order all the personnel mobilised in the streets to return to their units. We plead that the blood of our soldiers not be spilled," he said.
Presidential Statement
The President of Bolivia issued a statement on the situation in the state. On his Facebook, he expressed his gratitude to social organisations and "all the Bolivian people who have taken to the streets and expressed themselves through different media outlets, expressing their rejection of the coup attempt."
Also, the presidential office quoted Arce as saying that today the country is facing a coup attempt and "once again facing the interests for democracy in Bolivia to be ended."
Political Situation in Bolivia
Observers are recording heightened tensions in Bolivia ahead of general elections in 2025. The "leftist" former president Evo Morales (former head of state from 2006 to 2019), formerly an ally of incumbent President Arce, is planning to enter the race. This creates a major split in the ruling socialist party and wider political uncertainty.
According to Reuters, many people don't want the return of Morales, who was overthrown amid mass protests and replaced by an interim conservative government. Arce then won elections in 2020.
Possible Cause of Coup
Zuniga recently said that Morales should not return to the presidency and threatened to block him if he tried to do so. It is noted that this led Arce to remove Zuniga from office.
Ahead of the attack on the presidential palace, Zuniga addressed journalists in the square. During the speech, he spoke of growing anger in the landlocked country, struggling with an economic crisis due to depleting central bank reserves and pressure on the Bolivian currency because of declining gas exports.
"The three chiefs of the Armed Forces have come to express our concerns," he told a local TV station, calling for a new cabinet to be formed.
Later on Wednesday, Zuniga told reporters that Arce had asked him on Sunday to "raise something" to boost his popularity.
Interior Secretary Eduardo del Castillo later said Zuniga was trying to gain popular support.
It is also reported that nine people were injured in Wednesday's incidents in La Paz.
What Preceded
It was previously reported that on June 26, military units led by General Zuniga, who was recently stripped of his military command, gathered in Bolivia's central Murillo Square, where the presidential palace and Congress are located.
It was also reported that an armoured vehicle rammed through the door of the presidential palace and soldiers ran inside. Representatives of the authorities said it was an attempted coup d'état. The President condemned such actions.
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