Bolivian military staged a coup and stormed the Presidential Palace

Earlier in the day, military units led by General Juan Jose Zuniga, who was recently stripped of his command of the army, gathered at the central Plaza Murillo, where the Presidential Palace and the National Congress are located. Witnesses said they saw an armored vehicle ramming the gates of the Presidential Palace and soldiers rushing in.

“Today the country is facing an attempted coup… The Bolivian people are summoned today. We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup,” Mr Arce said from the presidential palace, with armed soldiers outside.

Military police fire tear gas in La Paz, Bolivia on June 26, 2024. Photo: Reuters

According to video footage from the scene, armed soldiers gathered around Murillo Plaza, the main square in La Paz that houses the national executive and legislative offices.

According to the AP news agency, armored vehicles were seen crashing into the gates of the Bolivian government headquarters, as former President Evo Morales, also from President Arce's Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, said on X that a "coup was underway".

Hours later, soldiers were seen withdrawing from the square and police took control. Inside the presidential palace, Arce announced the appointment of José Wilson Sánchez as the new commander-in-chief of the army. Sánchez called on soldiers to return to their barracks and told their commanders to avoid bloodshed.

Soldiers block the road in front of the Presidential Palace and legislative buildings in La Paz, Bolivia on June 26, 2024. Photo: Juan Karita/AP

Tensions are rising in Bolivia ahead of a general election in 2025, with leftist former President Evo Morales planning to run against his old ally Arce, creating a major rift within the ruling party and wider political instability.

Mr Morales, who was in power from 2006 to 2019, was ousted amid widespread protests and replaced by a conservative interim government. Mr Arce then won re-election in 2020.

General Zuniga recently said that Mr Morales should not return to the presidency and threatened to find a way to block it, prompting President Arce to remove Zuniga from office.

Bolivian President Luis Arce (L) prepares to appoint new military commanders at the government headquarters in La Paz, Bolivia on June 26, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Before the attack on the presidential palace, General Zuniga spoke to reporters in the square and said anger was growing in the landlocked country, which is struggling with economic recession and inflation.

“The three heads of the armed forces have come to express our disappointment,” Zuniga told a local television station, calling for a new cabinet to be formed. He has repeatedly called for President Arce to be removed.

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, CNN, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/quan-doi-bolivia-dao-chinh-dung-xe-boc-thep-xong-vao-dinh-tong-thong-post301034.html