The Bolivian Defense Minister, Edmundo Novillo, assured that “the situation is already under control within the Armed Forces”, after the coup attempt, inviting the population to “resume their activities”. In statements to the media, Novillo announced that after the installation of the new military leaders, President Luis Arce met with them, and gave them the task of taking full control of the armed forces.
“I want to reassure you – the minister finally told journalists – that everything is under control. There is no need to worry, we are adopting the necessary security measures. The military units have received instructions to resume carrying out all operations immediately. their normal activities”. Novillo then referred to reports of long queues at petrol stations for refueling, inviting citizens “not to worry”. Probably, he finally said, “there are those who are afraid, thinking that the situation will last a long time, but we want to tell them that this is not the case. Everything is now under control”.
The soldiers deployed in Murillo square, where the main buildings of Bolivian democracy overlook, demobilized after the appointment of the new army commander, who asked everyone to return to the barracks. “We salute the military who wear the uniform with pride” as different from those “who repeat history by trying to carry out a coup d’état when the Bolivian people have always been democratic,” said Bolivian President Luis Arce. “The new appointment should appease unconstitutional appetites”, he highlighted, inviting the population to remain calm”.
At least 12 people were injured following the coup attempt, some from shots fired by rioting soldiers in and around Plaza Murillo. The toll of the injured was provided last night by both the Minister of the Presidency, Maria Nela Prada, and the Minister of Health, María Renée Castro. She declared that “our medical brigades quickly went into action and transferred the injured to the relevant city health facilities”.
The former commanders of the Army and Navy, Juan José Zúñiga and Juan Arnez Salvador, were identified as the main architects of the attempted coup, and arrested. In a press conference, Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo said the two officers would be tried for crimes related to internal security.
Del Castillo underlined that “there is another group of people who will be investigated for having contributed to the implementation of the attempted coup. “Once they are convicted – he concluded – we will ensure that this does not happen again”. In the wake of the As happened, yesterday President Luis Arce appointed the new leaders of the armed forces in a ceremony: General José Wilson Sánchez Velásquez, as commander of the army, General Gerardo Zabala, as head of the Air Force, and Vice Admiral Renán Guard, leading the Navy.
The vice president of Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, had denounced that a “coup d’état” was underway against the government of Luis Arce: “We denounce to the international community that a coup d’état is underway in Bolivia against our democratically elected government,” said Choquehuanca. Efe writes it.
Former President of Bolivia, Evo Moraleshad reported on snipers”. “This means that the coup d’état was prepared in advance”, continued Morales’ post which concludes with an appeal to the people to “defend the homeland from some military groups that act against democracy”.
Zuniga – dismissed after publicly threatening former president Evo Morales – had declared that a new government will soon be appointed because “the country cannot go on like this”. The general was interviewed by the Bolivian press after about a hundred soldiers led by him broke into the government headquarters in Murillo Square, La Paz. The action of the armed forces had shortly before been defined as ‘irregular’ by President Luis Alberto Arce. Former head of state Morales invited citizens and political movements to take to the streets. After leaving the square, he was arrested by the police.
The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS)condemns in the strongest possible terms the action of the Bolivian Army” which must immediately “submit to civil authority as provided for in the Inter-American Democratic Charter”. This was stated by the president of the OAS, Luis Almagro, speaking during the General Assembly of the organization, currently underway in Asuncion, Paraguay. Almagro took the floor immediately after being informed of the complaint by President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora who, in X, reported the ‘irregular’ presence of army units in Plaza Murillo, in front of the government headquarters. “We express our solidarity with President Arce. The international community, the OAS and the General Secretariat of the OAS will not tolerate any form of disruption of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia or anywhere else”, concluded Almagro.
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