The Bolivian military stormed the country’s presidential palace on Wednesday in a coup attempt that quickly failed, according to multiple reports.
The Bolivian military seized the capitol square and stormed the presidential palace on Wednesday at the behest of Army General Juan José Zúñiga, who claimed that the military would “restore democracy” and take power from President Luis Arce, according to The Associated Press. Soldiers deployed tear gas on protesters as a tank crashed into the gates of the palace, allowing forces to break inside.
Zúñiga was quickly arrested and taken into custody by authorities, according to the AP.
BREAKING: Footage of military units storming Bolivia’s presidential palace
(Source: teleSUR TV) pic.twitter.com/EN4wajMe1W
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) June 26, 2024
“The three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay. There will be a new cabinet of ministers, surely things will change, but our country cannot continue like this any longer,” Zúñiga said on local TV from the main square, per Reuters.
As soldiers began to flood the palace, Arce called on the public to mobilize “in favor of democracy” and said his government would stand firm against attempts to stage a coup, according to The Washington Post and AP. Arce confronted Zúñiga head-on near the entrance of the palace and demanded the military to withdraw, which they did just hours after the coup started.
“I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce told Zúñiga.
What a picture.
Bolivian President Luis Arce has met the leader of the attempted military coup in Bolivia face to face at the doors of the Presidential Palace. pic.twitter.com/v2DQDhBGwR
— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) June 26, 2024
Arce addressed a massive crowd that rallied around the palace in a show of support following the coup’s failure.
After his arrest, Zúñiga bizarrely claimed that Arce orchestrated the coup himself because it would “raise [his] popularity,” according to the AP. Justice Minister Iván Lima said that Zúñiga’s claims were a lie and an attempt to justify his treason.
Arce announced new heads for the country’s army, air force and navy following the coup, according to the AP.
“Thank you to the Bolivian people,” Arce told a crowd of supporters near the palace after the failed coup, according to the AP. “ Let democracy live on.”
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