Military-Led Coup In Progress In Bolivia

[seminole97]

There are emerging reports of a military coup going down in Bolivia on Wednesday, with embattled President Luis Arce denouncing the "irregular mobilization" of some units of the national army.

He has accused the country's top general, Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga,of plotting a coup, and warned "You need to respect democracy."

According to Reuters, "Heavily armed soldiers and armored vehicles were seen gathering in the capital's Plaza Murillo, according to videos shared on social media."

"Former President Evo Morales, who has publicly split with Arce even though both belong to same socialist movement, announced a national mobilization of his supporters to support democracy in a separate post on X," the report continues.



There are widespread reports that armored vehicles are destroying the door of the Presidential Palace, and that armed troops are breaking in.

Bolivia state TV is airing the following dramatic footage...



Amid road blockages and works stoppages across the capital, each side is urging their forces and supporters to urgently assist:

Presidential Minister María Nela Prada said military and tanks were taking over Plaza Murillo in La Paz, calling it an “attempted coup d’état.” The people are “on alert to defend democracy,” she said to local television station Red Uno.
The general commander of the army, Juan José Zúñiga, present in the same square, confirmed that there was a movement of uniformed officers, and said: “We are upset by the affront, enough is enough.”

Currently protesters supporting Arce are filling up some of the streets leading to the square while chanting pro-Arce slogans and on their way to confront the mutiny.

The following widely circulating and astounding photograph shows President Arce meeting the leader of the attempted military coup face-to-face at the doors of the Presidential Palace:

 

[seminole97]

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday in an apparent coup attempt against President Luis Arce, but he vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander who ordered troops to stand down.

The soldiers later pulled back as supporters of Arce waved Bolivian flags and cheered in a central square.

In a video of Arce surrounded by ministers in the palace, the Bolivian leader said: “Here we are, firm in Casa Grande, to confront any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize.”

Arce confronted the general commander of the army — Juan José Zúñiga, who appeared to be leading the rebellion — in the palace hallway, as shown on video on Bolivian television. “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

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.” But, he said, “for now” he recognizes Arce as commander in chief.

Zúñiga did not explicitly say he’s leading a coup, but in the palace, with bangs echoing behind him, he said the army was trying to “restore democracy and free our political prisoners.”

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.

 

[Finance85]

That looks like a real coup.

 

[ISUBryceC]

Why are these Central/South American countries so prone to this?

 

[Here_4_a_Day]

There are emerging reports of a military coup going down in Bolivia on Wednesday, with embattled President Luis Arce denouncing the "irregular mobilization" of some units of the national army.

He has accused the country's top general, Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga,of plotting a coup, and warned "You need to respect democracy."

According to Reuters, "Heavily armed soldiers and armored vehicles were seen gathering in the capital's Plaza Murillo, according to videos shared on social media."

"Former President Evo Morales, who has publicly split with Arce even though both belong to same socialist movement, announced a national mobilization of his supporters to support democracy in a separate post on X," the report continues.



There are widespread reports that armored vehicles are destroying the door of the Presidential Palace, and that armed troops are breaking in.

Bolivia state TV is airing the following dramatic footage...



Amid road blockages and works stoppages across the capital, each side is urging their forces and supporters to urgently assist:


Currently protesters supporting Arce are filling up some of the streets leading to the square while chanting pro-Arce slogans and on their way to confront the mutiny.

The following widely circulating and astounding photograph shows President Arce meeting the leader of the attempted military coup face-to-face at the doors of the Presidential Palace:

Can't be.......they are armed........

 

[stillh8unlv]

Why are these Central/South American countries so prone to this?

I'm sure somehow, someway it's America's fault.

 

[bagdropper]

WW3?

 

[ANYCHawk]

The coup that lasted all of 10 minutes.

Here is what doesn't happen in a decent coup. The two leaders come to face to face and both just walk away

 

[seminole97]

The coup that lasted all of 10 minutes.

Here is what doesn't happen in a decent coup. The two leaders come to face to face and both just walk away

"We're here to arrest you."
"You've been fired."
"Mierda!"

 

[wilson reborn]

Could we please let Trump have Bolivia and call it a day?

 

[noleclone2]

Bolivia’s coup attempt was over about as quick as my first time.

 

[alaskanseminole]

I'm sure somehow, someway it's America's fault.

Well, we did just beat them 2-0 in the COPA.

 

[Aardvark86]

Bolivia’s coup attempt was over about as quick as my first time.

How’s Nigeria coming along?

 

[seminole97]

Update(1950ET): It appears the short-lived coup attempt is over, with reports of the following: The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce has just stated during a Press Conference that the Leader of the Coup d'état in the Capital of La Paz, General Juan José Zúñiga has been arrested by his own Troops after they realized he was conducting a Coup against the Government; with all remaining Troops currently Returning to their Bases.

 

[SansAgain]

Could we please let Trump have Bolivia and call it a day?

Why would he want to run a shithole country when he’ll be running the greatest country in the world? Sounds dumb.

 

[alaskanseminole]

Why would he want to run a shithole country when he’ll be running the greatest country in the world into the ground? Sounds dumb.

FIFY

 

[seminole97]

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Led by a top general vowing to “restore democracy,” armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday in what the president called a coup attempt, then quickly retreated — the latest crisis in the South American country facing a political battle and an economic crisis.

Within hours, the nation of 12 million people saw a rapidly moving scenario in which the troops seemed to take control of the government of President Luis Arce. He vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander, who immediately ordered the troops to stand down.

Soon the soldiers pulled back, along with a line of military vehicles, ending the rebellion after just three hours. Hundreds of Arce’s supporters then rushed the square outside the palace, waving Bolivian flags, singing the national anthem and cheering.

The soldiers’ retreat was followed by the arrest of army chief Gen. Juan José Zúñiga, after the attorney general opened an investigation.

Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said that in addition to Zúñiga, former navy Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador was taken into custody.

“What was this group’s goal? The goal was to overturn the democratically elected authority,” del Castillo told journalists in announcing the arrests.

The apparent coup attempt came as the country has faced months of tensions and political fights between Arce and his one-time ally, former leftist president Evo Morales, over control of the ruling party. It also came amid a severe economic crisis.

The clashes have paralyzed the government’s efforts to deal with the economic crisis. For example, Morales’ allies in Congress have consistently thwarted Arce’s attempts to take on debt to relieve some of the pressure.

Zúñiga referenced that paralysis during the rebellion, telling reporters the military was tired of the infighting and was seeking “to restore democracy.”

“We are listening to the cry of the people because for many years an elite has taken control of the country,” he said, adding that politicians are “destroying the country: look at what situation we are in, what crisis they have left us in.”

“The armed forces intend to restore the democracy, to make it a true democracy,” he said.

The rapidly unfolding crisis began in the early afternoon as the streets of La Paz started filling with soldiers. Arce tweeted that the troops deployment was irregular and soon he and other political figures warned of an attempted coup.

Still, the apparent attempt to depose the sitting president seemed to lack any meaningful support, and even Arce’s rivals closed ranks to defend democracy and repudiate the uprising.

In a twist, Zúñiga claimed in comments to journalists before his arrest that Arce himself told the general to storm the palace in a political move. “The president told me: ‘The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity’,” Zúñiga quoted the Bolivian leader as saying.

Zúñiga sajd he asked Arce if he should “take out the armored vehicles?” and Arce replied, “Take them out.”

Justice Minister Iván Lima denied Zúñiga’s claims, saying the general was lying and trying to justify his actions for which he said he will face justice.

Prosecutors will seek the maximum sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison for Zúñiga, Lima said via the social media platform X, “for having attacked democracy and the Constitution.”

The spectacle shocked Bolivians, no stranger to political unrest; in 2019 Morales was ousted as president following an earlier political crisis.

As the crisis unfolded Wednesday, Arce confronted Zúñiga in the palace hallway, as shown on video on Bolivian television. “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

Surrounded by ministers, he added: “Here we are, firm in Casa Grande, to confront any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize.”

Less than an hour later, Arce announced new heads of the army, navy and air force amid the roar of supporters, and thanked the country’s police and regional allies for standing by him. Arce said the troops who rose against him were “staining the uniform” of the military.

“I order all that are mobilized to return to their units,” said the newly named army chief José Wilson Sánchez. “No one wants the images we’re seeing in the streets.”

Shortly after, the armored vehicles roared out of the plaza, tailed by hundreds of military fighters as police in riot gear set up blockades outside the government palace.

The incident was met with a wave of outrage by other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, the leader of Honduras, and former Bolivian leaders.

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

Arce and 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.

Following Wednesday’s chaos, reports on local media showed Bolivians stocking up on food and other essentials in supermarkets, concerned about what will come next.

But addressing supporters outside the presidential palace, the country’s vice president, David Choquehuanca, vowed: “Never again will the Bolivian people permit coup attempts.”

 

[Chishawk1425]

 

[Chishawk1425]

Should have been Trump and all the GOP enablers on January 6th.

 

[seminole97]

@Whiskeydeltadeltatango

What’s the evidence the CIA was involved?

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

@Whiskeydeltadeltatango

What’s the evidence the CIA was involved?

View embedded media

I don't have any, I don't even speak Spanish.

 

[seminole97]

I don't have any, I don't even speak Spanish.

CIA backed coup after this interview would be genuinely newsworthy:

Bolivian President Luis Arce sharply criticized the NATO military alliance in an exclusive interview with Sputnik just over two weeks ago, on June 7, on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024.

“I believe that NATO's actions are putting world peace at risk,” the leader insisted. “We have seen it not only here in Europe, but also in Latin America,” he noted, referring to the bloc’s attempts to form partnerships with the historical US ally Colombia and, more recently, with Javier Milei’s Argentina. “We see with great concern that NATO is acting in several countries in the region where it previously did not participate, where it did not exist.”

“We see how NATO acts in other places and where it has gone, there have been problems… We do not share the militarist, liberal objectives it proposes when what the planet needs today is peace,” the president emphasized.

Western countries have historically interfered throughout Latin America and in Bolivia in particular, where the CIA collaborated with the notorious Nazi torture chief Klaus Barbie to persecute leftists. The United States backed a coup in the Andean country in 2019, having long objected to former President Evo Morales’ anti-imperialist government. Observers suggest the US maintains a keen interest in the country’s lithium deposits, which are some of the largest in the world.

 

[IACub]

Could we please let Trump have Bolivia and call it a day?

Then he could tell us about how he prevented a coupe.

 

[Chishawk1425]

Could we please let Trump have Bolivia and call it a day?

 

[HawCory]

Then he could tell us about how he prevented a coupe.

You prevent a coupe by adding another set of car doors.

 

[Finance85]

I don't have any, I don't even speak Spanish.

Que'?

 

[seminole97]

You prevent a coupe by adding another set of car doors.

 

[fsu1jreed]

It's pretty bad when Bolivia handles a coup better than the US

 

[fsu1jreed]

CIA backed coup after this interview would be genuinely newsworthy:

Bolivian President Luis Arce sharply criticized the NATO military alliance in an exclusive interview with Sputnik just over two weeks ago, on June 7, on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024.

“I believe that NATO's actions are putting world peace at risk,” the leader insisted. “We have seen it not only here in Europe, but also in Latin America,” he noted, referring to the bloc’s attempts to form partnerships with the historical US ally Colombia and, more recently, with Javier Milei’s Argentina. “We see with great concern that NATO is acting in several countries in the region where it previously did not participate, where it did not exist.”

“We see how NATO acts in other places and where it has gone, there have been problems… We do not share the militarist, liberal objectives it proposes when what the planet needs today is peace,” the president emphasized.

Western countries have historically interfered throughout Latin America and in Bolivia in particular, where the CIA collaborated with the notorious Nazi torture chief Klaus Barbie to persecute leftists. The United States backed a coup in the Andean country in 2019, having long objected to former President Evo Morales’ anti-imperialist government. Observers suggest the US maintains a keen interest in the country’s lithium deposits, which are some of the largest in the world.

View embedded media

Maybe Trump shouldn't have backed a coup in that country

 

[seminole97]

It's pretty bad when Bolivia handles a coup better than the US

Presumes the US didn't have 'handlers' for Zúñiga and Salvador.
Will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of this.