Soldiers in armored personnel carriers have withdrawn from the central square in Bolivia’s capital, after President Luis Arce faced off and denounced what he called a coup attempt.
A group of heavily armed soldiers led by the commander of the Armed Forces, General Juan Jose Zuniga, occupied Plaza Murillo in La Paz on Wednesday and entered the presidential palace. Zuniga had been officially relieved of his duties the day before over alleged threats to former president Evo Morales.
Arce condemned the “irregular mobilization of some units of the Bolivian Army” and dismissed Zuniga, replacing him with Jose Wilson Sanchez.
The new army chief then ordered the troops to leave the square. “All personnel that have been mobilized in the streets must return to their units,” Sanchez said in his first speech.
According to Bolivian media, Zuniga has been detained and charged with “terrorism and an armed uprising against the security and sovereignty of the state.”
Arce later appeared on the balcony of the presidential palace, and thanked his supporters. “No one can take away the democracy that we have won at the ballot box,” the president told the jubilant crowd. “We will continue working for the Bolivian people.”
Immediately after the army was deployed to La Paz, supporters of Arce and the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) party took to the streets, demanding that the troops return to their barracks. Many politicians and officials have denounced the attempt, as did the EU and most leaders of South American countries.
“We condemn the events in Bolivia. The army must submit itself to the legitimately elected civil power,” said Luis Almagro, leader of the Organization of American States (OAS).
General Zuniga has justified his actions by claiming that he wanted to “restore democracy” and free “all Bolivian political prisoners,” including former interim president Jeanine Anez and former governor of the Santa Cruz province Luis Fernando Camacho.
Anez, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for violating the constitution during the 2019 ouster of then-President Evo Morales, denounced the attempted coup.