Bolivia: Army General Arrested After Alleged Failed Coup Attempt

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Facts

  • Former Bolivia's army chief, Gen. Juan José Zúñiga, was arrested on Wednesday after leading an apparent coup attempt that failed not long after its beginning.1
  • He has been criminally charged with counts of armed uprising against security and state sovereignty, inciting troops, and attacks against the president and state officials, for which he could face 20 years behind bars.2
  • This comes as soldiers who gathered for hours in the central Plaza Murillo in La Paz stormed the presidential palace after an armored vehicle rammed into its doors, witnesses told Reuters.3
  • Removed from his position earlier this week after pledging not to allow term-limited socialist leader Evo Morales to run for a fifth term in office next year, Zúñiga threatened to topple the government and release 'all political prisoners,' including former Pres. Jeanine Añez.4
  • Former Navy commander Juan Arnez Salvador was taken into custody and Bolivia's leftist Pres. Luis Arce swore in José Wilson Sánchez Velásquez as the newest military leader later that day.5
  • Calm apparently returned to the long-troubled South American nation on Thursday despite increasing rifts between Arce and his former ally Morales ahead of the 2025 presidential election.6

Sources: 1New York Times, 2Al Jazeera, 3Reuters.com, 4Breitbart, 5Independent and 6FOX News.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Newsweek. Given the history of likely US-backed coups in Latin America — including in Chile and Argentina — as well as Arce's recent application to join Russia and China's BRICS alliance, it would make sense that the US is potentially behind this. Arce is also critical of Israel and runs a nation rich with lithium, which would give Washington even more of a motive to meddle in Bolivia's affairs.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by EL PAÍS English. Given Bolivia's unprecedented 23 coup attempts since 1950, historical analysts can safely say this was not some grand conspiracy to overthrow Arce's government. Real coups are conducted in the dark and include the arrest of the president and his cabinet. This was a simple spat between officials in a country run by a weak government and inhabited by an impassioned electorate.

Predictions