On June 26, local time, a military coup took place in Bolivia. According to reports from multiple foreign media, TV stations and eyewitnesses said that tanks and troops broke into the Presidential Palace in La Paz, Bolivia. Currently, the crisis has been resolved.
Former Bolivian Army Commander Zuniga said he would take over the government and form a new cabinet after occupying the presidential palace. Bolivian President Arce confronted Zuniga and ordered him to disband his troops.
After the incident, Bolivian Foreign Minister Sosa released a video condemning the abnormal troop movement and calling for the maintenance of Bolivia's democracy. Castro, the president of Honduras, the chair of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, urgently summoned the presidents of the member states of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
Zuniga claimed that the armed forces aimed to reorganize Bolivia's democracy and would release all political prisoners. He told local TV crews outside the presidential palace. "Three army chiefs came to express our frustration. There will be a new cabinet of ministers and things will definitely change, but our country cannot go on like this."
According to Bolivian news website Erbol, Zuniga, who is accused of attempting a coup, met with Bolivian President Arce. Zuniga and soldiers left the government building after talking with Arce, the report said. Interior Minister Castillo and officials blocked the door.
Shortly after the attack on the presidential palace, Arce replaced the army commander with José Wilson Sánchez, who ordered soldiers deployed in La Paz's main square to return to their garrisons and urged commanders to avoid bloodshed during the coup.
The country's Supreme Court condemned the "attack on democratic stability" and reiterated its commitment to "guaranteeing law and justice." Prosecutors announced late Wednesday that they would open a criminal investigation into Zuniga.
On the afternoon of June 26, local time, Arce held a press conference to condemn the failed coup and expressed his determination to defend democracy and protect the people. The coup instigator, former Bolivian Army Commander-in-Chief Zuniga, was arrested by the army.
Bolivia, a landlocked country of 12 million people in the Andes and a lithium powerhouse, has endured numerous coups since independence in 1825. Meanwhile, the economy has struggled as foreign reserves and natural gas, the country’s main export, dwindle, and the Bolivian currency’s peg to the dollar has all but collapsed.
A law passed last year allowed the central bank to sell its gold reserves, which helped ease the brewing financial crisis somewhat, although the central bank had 23.5 tonnes of gold left at the end of last year, just above the legal threshold of 22 tonnes.
Bolivia's military action on Wednesday drew swift global condemnation. A White House National Security Council spokesman said the United States was "closely monitoring" the situation and urged "calm and restraint."
"The EU condemns any attempt to undermine Bolivia's constitutional order and overthrow the democratically elected government," said the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell.
Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States, called on Bolivia's military to obey "the legitimately elected civilian regime."
Mexico's president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, wrote on Twitter that "the uprising of some armed forces in Bolivia is an attack on democracy. We strongly condemn these actions," she wrote. Brazil's Lula said he hopes "democracy will prevail in Latin America and that coups will never succeed."
The article is forwarded from: Jinshi Data
