Bolivian President Luis Arce said on Wednesday that the country “is going through an attempted coup d’état,” before a military movement led by the general commander of the Bolivian Army, Juan José Zuñiga, who broke down the door of the Executive headquarters in the city of La Paz. “I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce stated on state television. And he added that they are “firm here at Casa Grande to confront any coup attempt, any attempt that threatens our democracy.”

Previously, the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, had spoken of “irregular movements” of soldiers in front of the Government headquarters, while citizens and local media reported the presence of tanks and heavily armed soldiers. But his vice president David Choquehuanca had directly spoken that a “coup” against the Government after a tank forced its way into the headquarters: “We denounce to the international community that in Bolivia there is a coup d’état against our democratically elected Government.”

Something that has been confirmed the Commander General of the Bolivian Army, who threatened this Wednesday to take over the headquarters of the Bolivian Executive while traveling in a tank, as could be seen in the broadcast of local television media. Furthermore, he has headed a military group that aims to “change the Government Cabinet”, He has said that he will “free all political prisoners” like former interim president Jeanine Añez and “reestablish” democracy in the country. “We will release Añez, (the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando) Camacho, military prisoners,” Zuñiga told the media in front of the Government headquarters next to a tank.

Several tanks have been seen and heavily armed soldiers occupied the square in front of the Bolivian Executive headquarters on Wednesday. According to EFE, the soldiers in Plaza Murillo are armed, hooded and with boxes of tear gas ammunition and several people have been injured. And a tank knocked down the doors of the Bolivian Executive headquarters and entered inside.

For his part, the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (2006-2019) had said this Wednesday that a “coup d’état” is brewing in the country after a deployment of tanks and heavily armed soldiers in front of the Government headquarters in the city of La Paz became known. Morales, like Luis Arce, has called a “national mobilization to defend democracy” and has accused the Commander General of the Bolivian Army Juan José Zúñiga of being at the head of the military operation. “We declare an indefinite general strike and blockade of roads. We will not allow the Armed Forces to violate democracy and intimidate the people,” the former president wrote in his X account.

They ask for support from the international community

The Chancellor of Bolivia, Celinda Sosa, has denounced the mobilizations to the International Community “irregular” of Army units that “attack democracy, peace and security of the country.” “We call on the International Community, on the Bolivian population to respect democratic values ​​and support the government of Luis Arce Catacora, constitutional and legitimately chosen by the sovereign will of the Bolivian people,” said Sosa, through a video uploaded to X.

Subsequently, the Bolivian Foreign Ministry has officially denounced the irregular mobilizations of soldiers from some Army units. In a statement, he points out that these movements “they attack democracy, peace and security of the country”. “We call on the international community and the Bolivian population to respect democratic values ​​and support the Government of President Luis Arce, constitutionally and legitimately elected by the sovereign will of the Bolivian people,” they highlighted.

The representative of Bolivia before the Organization of American States (OAS), Héctor Arce, has alerted the international community from Paraguay this Wednesday of a “emergency situation” in his country after the invasion of military troops in front of the Government headquarters in La Paz and has asked that this fact be addressed “with due responsibility and seriousness.”

Arce has denounced that “some units of the Armed Forces and Army of the Plurinational State of Bolivia” broke into Plaza Murillo and “surrounded” the headquarters of the Bolivian Executive Branch. “This is an emergency situation. We have not had military coups in Latin America for more than 40 years and I request that this be taken with due responsibility and seriousness by the Organization of American States, whose supreme goal must always be the defense of democracy,” said the Bolivian representative.

Arce has assured that, for the moment, The “intentions” of the mobilized soldiers are unknown, but he warned that it is an “ostensibly violent act and contrary to the constitutional order” and that “apparently” the Army commander “would be behind it.” “Democracy, republican institutions and the rule of law must always be defended in all international bodies,” he added.

The OAS “will not allow the breach of the constitutional order”

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, stated this Wednesday from Paraguay that the organization will not tolerate “no form of violation of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia“. “The General Secretariat of the OAS condemns in the most forceful way these actions of the Bolivian Army, which must submit to civil authority as mandated by the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” Almagro said.

Likewise, he has expressed his “solidarity” with the president of Bolivia. “The international community, the OAS, the General Secretariat of the OAS, will not tolerate any form of violation of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia or anywhere else,” added the official, while the dialogue took place in the Paraguayan city of Luque. with the permanent observers of the OAS.

The former Uruguayan foreign minister has also referred to the events that occurred in Bolivia in his official X account. “The Army must submit to the legitimately elected civil power“, the diplomat published.

The pro tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, has called a meeting “urgent” to the rulers of the countries of the regional organization in the face of the imminent “coup d’état” in Bolivia. “I urgently call on the presidents of the member countries of CELAC to condemn the fascism that today attacks democracy in Bolivia and demand full respect for civil power and the Constitution,” Castro said on social network X. He added that “the military forces have once again carried out a criminal Coup d’état.

Reactions from the international community

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has not been slow to show his “resounding” condemnation of these military movements. This was stated by the head of the Executive in a message in X, where he assured that “Spain strongly condemns the military movements in Bolivia.” “We send to the Government of Bolivia and its people our support and solidarity and we call to respect democracy and the rule of law,” Sánchez said. Also the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has stated that “the constitutional order cannot be broken in Bolivia” and adds that “democracy must be respected.”

From the European Union, it has been the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, who has stated that the EU “condemns any attempt to break the constitutional order in Bolivia and overthrow democratically elected governments.

From the American continent, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay, among others, have condemned this attempted coup d’état. Some have spoken directly of a “coup attempt underway” in Bolivia, while others use the term irregular military movements.