Attempted COUP in Bolivia as troopers storm authorities buildings

Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace and soldiers stormed government buildings on Wednesday as a top government official warned of an attempted coup.

The country’s President Luis Arce came face-to-face with the general commander of the Army Juan José Zúñiga in the hallway of the Palacio Quemado as chaos unfolded in the capital, La Paz.

Arce slammed the ‘irregular’ deployment of troops as tanks and military men swarmed municipal buildings and tear gas filled the streets.

Video on Bolivian television showed Arce confronting Zúñiga and saying: ‘I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination’.

Before entering the government building, Zúñiga told journalists in the plaza: ‘Surely soon there will be a new Cabinet of ministers; our country, our state cannot go on like this.’ 

Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday as a top government official warned of an attempted coup

Zúñiga said that ‘for now’ he recognizes Arce as commander in chief. 

In a message on his X account, Arce called for ‘democracy to be respected.’ 

It came as Bolivian television showed two tanks and a number of men in military uniform in front of the government palace.

‘We cannot allow, once again, coup attempts to take the lives of Bolivians,’ he said from inside the palace, surrounded by government officials, in a video message sent to news outlets.

Former President Evo Morales, also in a message on X, denounced the movement of the military in the Murillo square outside the palace, calling it a coup ‘in the making.’

The country’s President Luis Arce came face-to-face with the general commander of the Army Juan José Zúñiga in the hallway of the Palacio Quemado as chaos unfolded in the capital, La Paz

The country’s President Luis Arce said an ‘irregular’ deployment of troops was taking place in the capital La Paz as dramatic scenes emerged from the streets

Troops line up alongside an armored truck outside the presidential palace at the Plaza Murillo

Military police line up during the coup attempt on Wednesday 

A soldier in a gas mask drives an armored vehicle towards the door of the presidential palace 

A woman walks away from tear gas fired by military troops outside the Quemado Palace during the attempted coup 

A soldier gestures for journalists to leave Plaza Murillo as soldiers gather outside the presidential palace in Plaza Murillo

Bolivia has seen intensifying protests over the dramatic decline of the nation’s economy 

María Nela Prada, minister of the presidency and a top Bolivian official, called it an ‘attempted coup d´etat.’

‘The people are on alert to defend democracy,’ she said to local television station Red Uno.

Speculation has been growing since Tuesday that Zuniga was on the verge of being dismissed as head of the Army.

He appeared on state television on Monday and threatened to arrest Morales if he insisted on running for office again, despite being disqualified from doing so.

The carnage was met with a wave of outrage by other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States; Gabriel Boric, the president of neighboring Chile; Honduras´s leader, and former Bolivian leaders.

Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.

The country also has seen a high-profile rift at the highest levels of the governing party. 

Arce and his one-time ally, leftist icon and former President Morales, have been battling for the future of Bolivia’s splintering Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections in 2025.

The last attempted coup in Bolivia was in 1984, but since 1950 has seen more than any other country in the world.

Military Police stand amid tear gas they fired outside the presidential palace in Plaza Murillo

Bolivian President Luis Arce attends an Indigenous ritual before delivering his annual state of the nation address at the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia

Soldiers walk amid tear gas they fired outside the Legislative Assembly in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia

Soldiers block the street in front of the presidential palace, right, and the Legislative Assembly, left, in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Soldiers gather outside the Legislative Assembly in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia