Bolivia President Arce thanks people after failed coup attempt, troops return to barracks

SUCRE (Bolivia): Bolivian President Luis Arce thanked people after a ‘coup attempt’, which saw armoured vehicles ramming into the doors of the government palace, failed on Wednesday (local time), Al Jazeera reported.

Bolivian authorities arrested the outgoing general commander of the army, Juan Jose Zuniga, after troops pulled back from the square and newly appointed army chief Jose Wilson Sanchez ordered all mobilised troops to return to their barracks.

Troops led by army general commander Juan Jose Zuniga started withdrawing from the area around the presidential palace, after Arce called for the country to “defend democracy” and fired Zuniga along with the heads of the navy and air force. “Many thanks to the Bolivian people,” said Arce. “Long live democracy”, he said.

Bolivia coup attempt tottally failed: Three military leaders who took control of the presidential palace were arrested.

One coup leader was detained on live TV, others displayed with handcuffs to the media. pic.twitter.com/krPqLLwWz5

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 27, 2024

Armed soldiers gathered around Murillo Plaza, a main square in La Paz where the national executive and legislative offices are located, CNN reported. The footage on Bolivian television showed Arce facing down Zuniga in the palace hallway. “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers and I will not allow this insubordination”, Arce said.

Taking to social media platform X, the Bolivian President said, “We denounce irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian Army. Democracy must be respected”.

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

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

Newly appointed army chief Jose Wilson Sanchez ordered all mobilised troops to return to their barracks, stating that “no one wants the images we’re seeing in the streets”, Al Jazeera reported. The public prosecutor’s office said it open a criminal investigation into those behind the failed attempt against the government.

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales also denounced the incident. Morales, who publicly split from his one-time ally Arce, also called on “the social movements of the countryside and the city to defend democracy”. Morales 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, as reported by CNN.

Latin American leaders and organisations also expressed alarm over the effort on Wednesday, with officials from countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Peru, Honduras, Paraguay and Colombia denouncing the army’s moves as an attack on democracy.

A spokesperson for the White House said that the United States urges calm and restraint and that the Biden administration is monitoring developments, as reported by Al Jazeera.

“We condemned the events in Bolivia. The army must submit itself to the legitimately elected civil power,” Luis Almagro, leader of the Organization of American States (OAS) said following news reports that a tank had slammed into the doors of the national palace, clearing a path for soldiers to enter. (ANI)