– Army chief arrested after failed coup
The head of an elite unit of the Bolivian army was arrested Monday in Bolivia, accused of participating in the failed coup of June 26.
Published today at 06:31
The opposition to President Luis Arce (photo), as well as the former Bolivian head of state Evo Morales, have questioned the official version of the story, which claims a coup d’état.
AFP
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Police on Monday arrested a leader of an elite Bolivian army unit accused of ordering the deployment of 19 snipers to support the failed June 26 coup, the government said Tuesday.
“The arrest of the commander of the (elite unit) F-10 was carried out, in accordance with the request of the prosecutor’s office,” said Deputy Interior Minister Roberto Rios at a press conference.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office specified that the suspect was Vladimir Lupa Salamanca, arrested for attempted coup d’état, along with 21 other people, active military, retired or civilians. Juan José Zúñiga, former head of the Bolivian army and leader of the coup, as well as the former commanders of the air force and navy, were imprisoned.
14 civilians injured
On June 26, armed soldiers and armored vehicles took up positions outside the presidential palace in the capital La Paz. The uprising lasted a few hours before the troops of Juan José Zúñiga, who had said they wanted to “restructure democracy,” retreated.
According to Roberto Rios, the first elements of the investigation into these events indicate that Vladimir Lupa Salamanca ordered the transfer of 19 snipers from the F-10 unit from the department of Cochabamba (center) to La Paz to “perpetrate and consolidate what was a military coup.”
According to the deputy minister, only five of the 19 soldiers have arrived in the capital. The government reported 14 civilians injured by munitions fired by soldiers as they tried to repel the uprising.
Accusation d’Evo Morales
The opposition to President Luis Arce, as well as former Bolivian head of state Evo Morales, a former ally of Luis Arce, have questioned the official version of the coup, suggesting that it may in fact have been a “self-coup” to boost the popularity of the current president.
Several countries have condemned the armed uprising, while Argentine President Javier Milei called it a “rigged fraud.”
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