2024-07-04 04:37:34
The Bolivian government announced on Thursday the arrest of 17 military personnel and civilians accused of having participated in the failed coup against President Luis Arce.
Fifteen of those arrested for their alleged links to the coup attempt on Wednesday, when troops and tanks besieged the government house for hours, were presented with handcuffs, bulletproof vests and guarded by police.
The other two, General Juan José Zúñiga and Vice Admiral Juan Arnez, former commanders of the Army and Navy, respectively, who were identified as leaders of the plan, were arrested on Wednesday.
Both face up to 20 years in prison for terrorism and armed uprising, according to the prosecution.
“A total of 17 people have been arrested for having attempted to carry out a coup d’état,” said the Minister of Government (Interior), Eduardo del Castillo, at a press conference. “This would have been planned since last May.”
Police, who on Thursday reinforced surveillance of the presidential palace, are searching for three other suspects.
Before leading the plot, the former army commander was set to be dismissed. Earlier this week, he had threatened to arrest former President Evo Morales – Arce’s rival, although from his own party – if he insisted on seeking the presidency in 2025.
On Wednesday, at the height of tension, a tank attempted to knock down one of the doors of the presidential palace, where Arce was meeting with his cabinet.
The president personally confronted General Zúñiga when he walked through that same door and ordered him to return to the barracks, according to a video released by the presidency.
Zúñiga refused but left the presidential palace minutes later. His troops finally retreated after more than three hours, when Arce swore in a new military leadership.
Twelve civilians were injured on Wednesday by rubber bullets fired by the rebel soldiers, according to an official report.
– «Discontent» –
Bolstered by the support of his supporters and the international community, Arce, 60, managed to emerge victorious from the coup attempt with just over a year left in his term.
But “the fact that the coup was not successful does not mean that the situation in Bolivia has been resolved; on the contrary, it was a symptom of a very significant discontent that exists among broad sectors,” Gustavo Flores-Macías, from Cornell University in the United States, told AFP.
With a long history of military coups, Bolivia is going through an economic crisis resulting from falling revenues due to low gas production, its main source of foreign currency until 2023, associated with a lack of investment and exploration.
As a result, the country has had to reduce fuel imports and there is a shortage of dollars, which has triggered protests by powerful trade and freight transport unions.
All this amid a fierce dispute between Arce and his political mentor, the influential indigenous former president Evo Morales, who promoted constitutional reforms to govern for three terms, between 2006 and 2019, and tried to seek a fourth.
The two are currently competing for the banners of the Movement Towards Socialism in view of the 2025 presidential elections.
Despite being disqualified by the Constitutional Court from being a candidate, Morales has not given in and accuses Arce of maneuvering to remove him from the race.
Arce, Morales’ former finance minister throughout his term, is due to announce whether he will seek re-election.
The president appears to be “better positioned” in this crisis than Morales, academic and analyst Carlos Cordero of the private Bolivian Catholic University told AFP.
He showed himself to be “a man who can go out into the square to berate the military and restore social peace,” he commented.
– Suspicions –
Shortly before his arrest, General Zúñiga claimed that the coup attempt was suggested by Arce himself “to boost his popularity.”
The government immediately rejected the statements. “It is absolutely false and these are things that I find inconceivable,” said the Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada.
Former President Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) described the uprising as a “peretta.” This shows “the degree of institutional decomposition after 18 years of government by the Movement Towards Socialism,” he added.
Former President Carlos Mesa (2003-2005) also said on his social networks that the military mobilization “resembles a farce.”
For now, “we must carefully evaluate how widespread the discontent is within the Armed Forces (…) But to begin with, the Arce government is in a critical moment of weakness,” says Professor Flores-Macías.
© Agence France-Presse
