SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Suspected leaders of failed Bolivian coup remanded in custody
La Paz, June 29 (AFP) Jun 29, 2024
Three suspected leaders of a failed coup against Bolivian President Luis Arce were remanded in custody on Friday for six months, the country's top prosecutor said.

Former army chief Juan Jose Zuniga, former head of navy Juan Arnez and Alejandro Irahola, former head of the army's mechanized brigade, will be held in a high-security prison not far from the capital La Paz.

"This pre-trial detention ordered by the judge will undoubtedly set a precedent, and is a good signal for the investigation to move forward," said Attorney General Cesar Siles.

The three officers face charges of engaging in an armed uprising and terrorism and face up to 20 years in prison, Siles said on state television.

A total of 21 active, retired and civilian military personnel were arrested in connection with Wednesday's attempted coup, in which troops and tanks were deployed in the heart of the capital, where they tried to break down a door of the presidential palace.

Zuniga said his goal was to "restructure democracy" in Bolivia. He was soon captured and the troops pulled back.


- 'Coup on one's self'? -


In an unusual twist, Zuniga claimed he was following Arce's orders and that the president had hoped for the coup to trigger a crackdown that would boost his popularity.

Arce denied the allegations. "How could one order or plan a coup on one's self?" he told reporters.

Tensions in the Andean nation have been rising in recent weeks over surging prices, shortages of dollars and fuel, and a feud between Arce and powerful former president Evo Morales ahead of the 2025 election.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced Thursday that he would soon visit his "friend" Arce to support him following the unrest.

Russia "strongly" condemned the attempted military coup, its foreign ministry said Thursday, warning against "destructive foreign interference" in the South American country.

UN chief Antonio Guterres "welcomes the peaceful resolution of the situation," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, having earlier expressed alarm over the abortive coup.

Condemnations of the coup bid also poured in from Madrid, Washington and across Latin America.


- Political tug of war -


Bolivia, which has a long history of military coups, has in recent weeks been rocked by an economic crisis due to a drop in natural gas production, its main source of foreign currency until 2023.

The country has had to reduce fuel imports, and there is a shortage of dollars, which has triggered protests by powerful unions of merchants and freight transporters.

Gustavo Flores-Macias, a professor of government at Cornell University in New York state, told AFP the failed coup was "a symptom of a significant and broad discontent" in the country.

For now, "we must carefully evaluate how widespread the discontent is within the armed forces," he said, adding that Arce's government was facing "a critical moment of weakness."

Bolivia is also deeply polarized after years of political instability, and the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party is riven by internal conflict between supporters of Arce and his former mentor Morales.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Out of the string theory swampland
Where did cosmic rays come from? MSU astrophysicists are closer to finding out
Silicate clouds discovered in atmosphere of distant exoplanet

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Auto sector reels from China's rare earth restrictions
c-FIRST Team Sets Sights on Future Fire-observing Satellite Constellations
Leaders warn race for minerals could turn seabed into 'wild west'

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Japan says two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific
NATO learns as Ukraine's 'creativity' changes battlefield
Rare earths: China's trump card in trade war with US

24/7 News Coverage
'No doubt' Canadian firm will be first to extract deep sea minerals: CEO
What is the high seas treaty?
World leaders urged to step up for overexploited oceans



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.