Listen to the audio version of the article
The coup attempt lasted just over three hours, throwing Bolivia into chaos in the afternoon. What disrupted the plot led by the now former Army commander, Juan José Zuñiga, was the appointment of new military leaders. As soon as he was appointed, General Jose Wilson Sanchez Velasquez ordered all soldiers to immediately return to the barracks and “avoid bloodshed”. The response was almost immediate. The soldiers who had raided the government palace in the afternoon, occupying Murillo Square, while President Luis Arce was meeting with the entire cabinet, retreated following orders. And Zuniga himself was seen leaving the square on board a tank, while the people sang the national anthem.
At the height of tension, in mid-afternoon, while President Luis Arce appeared in a live broadcast in the People’s Palace with his entire cabinet determined to resist the coup attempt, troops under Zuñiga’s command stormed the building with an armored vehicle forcing the main door of the building. A few minutes and the former commander – dismissed yesterday after publicly threatening former president Evo Morales – returned to the streets to ask for the resignation of Arce and his executive, and announce to the media the appointment of a new government and the release of all political prisoners. Meanwhile, Morales called for a strike and mobilization, denouncing: “the coup d’état was prepared in advance.”
the deposed commander Juan José Zuñiga was arrested by police as he left the headquarters of the Bolivian General Staff at 7 pm local time. The Efe agency reports it. General Zuniga had arrived at the building with a group of soldiers who stormed the government palace in La Paz with tanks.
At least 12 people were injured following the coup attempt, some wounded by shots fired by rioting soldiers in and around La Paz’s 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. The latter declared that “our medical brigades quickly went into action and transferred the injured to the competent city health facilities”.
The Bolivian Defense Minister, Edmundo Novillo, assured that “the situation is already under control within the Armed Forces”, 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 taking the necessary safety measures. The military units have received instructions to return to carrying out all their normal activities immediately.” 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 under control now.”
