An attempted military coup in Bolivia came up short following the arrest of its ringleaders on Wednesday, June 26, just one day after it began.
At around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, military police and armored vehicles surrounded government buildings in Bolivia's administrative capital of La Paz, seeking to overthrow President Luis Arce's government.
Reports indicate the attempted coup was centered around Plaza Murillo, the central plaza of La Paz and an open space that connects many prominent government buildings, including the Presidential Palace and the headquarters of the Bolivian parliament.
Videos from Plaza Murillo showed rows of armed men in uniforms cordoning off the Presidential Palace and using an armored vehicle to break down the doors. Other troops held off the crowd with riot shields marked "Military Police."
In an address to the nation, Arce confirmed that what was happening in La Paz was an attempted coup d'etat led by Commanding General of the Bolivian Army Juan Jose Zuniga. "You need to respect democracy," Arce warned the general.
Arce condemned the "irregular mobilization" of multiple units of the Bolivian Armed Forces, confirming that the coup was led not just by the Army but also by the Air Force and the Naval Force. (Related: Former Bolivian president calls for global campaign to eliminate NATO)
Zuniga himself was present at Plaza Murillo. "The three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay. Stop destroying, stop impoverishing our country, stop humiliating our army," he said, insisting that their action had the support of the public.
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Nation mobilized to resist coup, ringleaders later arrested
Arce and his government later called on the nation to mobilize and reject the military coup. This immediately led to protesters surrounding several streets leading to Plaza Murillo, blocking off most avenues of escape for the military units in the square.
The Bolivian Workers' Center, the country's main trade union federation, also called for an immediate and indefinite general strike in condemnation of the coup.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who led the country from 2006 to 2019 before his own ouster in a military coup and who remains a very popular figure in Bolivian politics, quickly condemned Zuniga and the coup and called on the country's robust social movements and organizations to take to the streets in opposition to Zuniga.
"We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people," said Morales.
Less than a day after the coup began, international reporters at Plaza Murillo noted seeing soldiers withdrawing from the square and Bolivian police taking back control of the plaza. Arce later emerged from the Presidential Palace to address cheering crowds.
Later that day, at around the evening of June 26, Bolivian police reported Zuniga's arrest. The head of the Naval Force, Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador, has also been arrested. The public prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation. Zuniga, Salvador and the chief of the Air Force have all been replaced.
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