BOLIVIA’s President Luis Arce has slammed a coup attempt against his government as soldiers and armoured military vehicles pulled away from surrounding government buildings in La Paz.
On Wednesday, June 26, military troops led by the country’s Army Commander, Juan José Zúñiga, gathered around the presidential palace with a tank slammed at the palace doors.
Addressing the country, Arce said his government would be “firm” in its opposition to any coup attempt and urged Bolivians to stand “in favour of democracy”.
Zuñiga, who was earlier stripped of his position as the country’s Army Commander confronted the President and rejected his order that he withdraw the troops.
He told reporters that the military sought to install a new cabinet and “restore democracy.”
Read Also:
Kenyan protests: despite killings, protesters call for march on Thursday
Kenya’s President Ruto declines to sign controversial Finance Bill
Anti-democratic policies in ECOWAS could trigger coups, experts warn
The President, however, appointed new commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force, who instructed their personnel to return to their units.
The officers retreated from the government palace.
Zuñiga alongside a cabinet member, Eduardo del Castillo, were arrested.
In a news conference, the Bolivian Defence minister, Edmundo Novillo, said the Armed Forces were “under control.”
“We now have total and absolute control over our Armed Forces. Everything is under control now. We urge the population that everything goes back to normal,” he said.
Both the Bolivian government and other world leaders condemned the coup attempt with the Bolivia’s Attorney General’s office stating that Zuñiga and “all the other participants” in the incident were the subject of a criminal investigation.
The recent political clash in Bolivia occurs as hostilities increase over leftist former President Evo Morales’ hopes to challenge former ally Arce in general elections next year.
Multimedia journalist covering Entertainment and Foreign news