A “coup d’état” is Brewing in Bolivia with Tanks and Troops

Former President of Bolivia Evo Morales assured this Thursday that a “coup d’état” is brewing in Bolivia, given the unusual deployment of tanks and troops in front of the government headquarters. At this moment, personnel from the Armed Forces and tanks are deployed in Plaza Murillo,” Morales said in X. Meanwhile, the constitutional president of Bolivia, Luis Alberto Arce, denounced the irregular mobilization of the army on the social network X, where he wrote.  “We denounce irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian Army. Democracy must be respected.”  These statements had the reaction of Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), who condemned the events in Bolivia in the most forceful way.  “The Army must submit to the legitimately elected civil power. We send our solidarity to the President of Bolivia, Luis Arce Catacora, his Government and all the people,” Almagro expressed on the social network.

On Wednesday afternoon June 26, international and local media reported that military troops and tanks were deployed in front of the headquarters of the Bolivian government in La Paz.  A tank tried to knock down a metal door of the presidential palace which General Juan José Zúñiga, commander of the Army, later entered. In an interview on Monday with a television channel, the head of the Army assured that he would arrest Morales if he insists on running for president in the 2025 elections, despite the fact that he was disqualified by the electoral justice system.  “Legally he is disqualified, that man can no longer be president of this country,” Zúñiga said. Tanks and troops occupied Plaza Murillo, in the center of the capital of Bolivia, where the presidential headquarters is located. The President of Bolivia denounced the attempted ‘coup d’état’, and for soldiers to withdraw tanks from the government headquarters.