Three suspected leaders of failed coup placed in pre-trial detention

In Bolivia, the three alleged leaders of the failed coup d’état were placed in pre-trial detention for a period of six months by the courts, the prosecution announced on Friday June 28.

General Juan José Zuñiga, former head of the army, Vice Admiral Juan Arnez Salvador, former head of the navy, and Alejandro Irahola, former head of the mechanized brigade of the army, will be incarcerated in a high prison security located on the outskirts of El Alto, a city close to La Paz. “This provisional detention ordered by the judge will undoubtedly create a precedent, and constitutes a good signal so that the investigation can continue to move forward”said prosecutor Cesar Siles.

The three officers suspected of trying to overthrow President Luis Arce on Wednesday are accused of armed uprising and terrorism and risk sentences of up to twenty years in prison, the magistrate said on state television.

Dozens of protesters gathered Friday outside the prosecutor’s office and police headquarters where Mr. Zuñiga is being held in La Paz, holding pro-democracy signs. “People who want to enter by force, with machine guns, tanks, cannot govern. We are not going to allow this, no matter what government is in power.”said Juan Fernandez, 44.

Alleged staging

A total of twenty-one active, retired and civilian military personnel were arrested in connection with the coup attempt, in which troops equipped with tanks besieged the presidential palace for several hours before retreating. General Zuñiga claimed to have acted on orders from the president, who had asked him to “stage something to increase one’s popularity”.

Mr. Arce vigorously denied: “How could one order or plan a self-coup? (…) He acted on his own initiative.” Among the twenty-one people arrested also includes General Marcelo Zegarra, former head of the air force, who must be presented to the judges in the coming hours. He presented himself at the prosecutor’s office with his two lawyers. Sergeant Alan Condori, who was driving the armored vehicle that attempted to ram one of the doors of the presidential palace, was also arrested.

With this failed coup, Bolivia enters a new period of political turbulence against a backdrop of economic crisis. The 2025 presidential election whets appetites, while unease reigns within the military institution against a backdrop of popular discontent over rising prices and shortages in a country whose gas and lithium resources arouse global interest.

Former President Morales in ambush

With just over a year to go until the end of his term that began in 2020, Mr. Arce faces multiple fronts. Notably on the political front, with a wing of his party, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), which has remained loyal to former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) and intends to run again under the banner of the MAS that he created.

Evo Morales, the first indigenous head of state who ruled for three terms, wants to return to power despite a decision by the Constitutional Court prohibiting him from doing so on the grounds that he has already served more than the number of terms allowed by the Constitution. A decision that he contests and judges ” policy “.

Evo Morales called for an investigation on Friday after questioning the official version: “The coup begins, the ministers walk happily through Murillo Square, they hit tanks; a coup with zero injuries, zero shots, zero deaths”, he said at a press conference. He called on his supporters to mobilize in favor of democracy, without ever mentioning Mr. Arce.