after an attempted “coup d’état”, a rebel general arrested

Rebel Bolivian soldiers accused by President Luis Arce of leading a ” Rebellion “ withdrew on Wednesday June 26 at the end of the afternoon from the place they occupied with armored vehicles in front of the presidential palace in La Paz, noted Agence France-Presse (AFP). Their leader, General Juan José Zuñiga, was arrested, according to images broadcast by public television.

He was apprehended and forced into a police vehicle while speaking to the press outside a military barracks. “You are under arrest, General!” »told him the Minister of the Interior, Jhonny Aguilera, who accompanied the police officers.

The senior officer was taken to the headquarters of a special police unit to be questioned by the prosecution, which accuses him of terrorism and armed uprising. Before being arrested, General Zuñiga maintained to journalists that he had acted on the orders of President Arce, who allegedly asked him on Sunday to “prepare something” to increase his popularity.

During the day, the general and his men had advanced in tight ranks through the streets of La Paz to Murillo Square, in front of the presidential headquarters, where they had positioned eight armored vehicles and fired tear gas at anyone attempting to to approach.

Mr. Arce then denounced on the social network “the irregular movements of certain units of the Bolivian army”. “Democracy must be respected”he said.

According to AFP journalists on site, an armored vehicle tried to break down a metal door of the Palacio Quemado, the seat of the presidency, and the head of the army, General Zuñiga, briefly entered the palace.

“Restructuring democracy”

The senior officer said the military intended to “restructuring democracy” in Bolivia, “to make it a true democracy. Not that of a few, not that of a few masters who have ruled the country for thirty or forty years”he declared in front of the palace, surrounded by soldiers.

In a video message to the nation alongside government ministers, Mr Arce launched a call for mobilization. “We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup, in favor of democracy”he said.

The Bolivian president dismissed the rebel general and swore in a new command of the armed forces, according to images broadcast live on national television. “We are facing a coup attempt by soldiers who soil their uniforms”denounced Mr. Arce during the ceremony.

Former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) also stated on“a coup d’état is being prepared[ait] ». “Military and tanks are deployed in Murillo Square”he wrote, calling “to a national mobilization to defend democracy”.

Once the soldiers left, Mr. Arce went out onto the balcony of his palace to greet his supporters gathered by the hundreds in the square. “No one can take away the democracy we have won”he said.

Rumors had been circulating since Tuesday that General Zuñiga, in office since November 2022, could be dismissed from his duties for having overstepped them. In an interview given Monday to a television channel, he said he would arrest Mr. Morales if he continued to want to run for president in 2025, while the Constitutional Court decided in December 2023 that he would not. couldn’t. “Legally, he is disqualified, he can no longer be president of this country”, the general had declared. The military “are the armed wing of the country and we will defend the Constitution at all costs”he added.

Bolivia’s ruling party, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), is deeply divided between Mr. Arce and Mr. Morales, once allies and now adversaries in the next presidential election. Evo Morales is seeking the nomination on behalf of the MAS. Luis Arce has not yet made an official candidacy.

A situation denounced in America and Europe

The situation in Bolivia has been denounced by the majority of South American countries, as well as by Washington and France. The United States announced that it would follow ” from close “ the situation and called for calm, according to a White House spokeswoman. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said “deeply worried”.

France condemned the coup attempt on Thursday, calling “respect for the constitutional order”, according to a press release from the deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She further expressed “his support for the Bolivian government” et “his solidarity” with the Bolivian people, underlined Christophe Lemoine, who adds that the French embassy and the Crisis and Support Center of the ministry “are mobilized and advice on caution has been issued to French nationals”.

The leaders of Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Colombia called for respect for democracy, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X: “I am a lover of democracy and I want it to prevail throughout Latin America. » Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denounced an attempt to “coup d’état in Bolivia” orchestrated by “the extreme right with a military traitor”.

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, declared that“no form of violation of the constitutional order will be[it] tolerated » in Bolivia, expressing his “solidarity with President Luis Arce” from Asuncion, Paraguay, where the OAS general assembly is being held until Friday.

For her part, the Honduran head of state, Xiomara Castro, current president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), called on the member countries of the group to “condemn the fascism which is attacking democracy in Bolivia today and demand full respect for civil power and the Constitution”.

In Europe, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, called for “respect democracy and the rule of law”. “Spain strongly condemns the military movements in Bolivia. We send our support and solidarity to the Bolivian government and its people”he added on X.