In Bolivia, the three alleged leaders of the failed coup d’état were placed in pre-trial detention for a period of six months by the courts, the prosecution announced on Friday June 28.
General Juan José Zuñiga, former head of the army, Vice Admiral Juan Arnez, former head of the navy, and Alejandro Irahola, former head of the army’s mechanized brigade, will be held in a high-security prison on the outskirts of El Alto, a city near La Paz. “This provisional detention ordered by the judge will undoubtedly create a precedent, and constitutes a good signal so that the investigation can continue to move forward”said prosecutor Cesar Siles.
The three officers suspected of trying to overthrow President Luis Arce on Wednesday are accused of armed uprising and terrorism and risk sentences of up to twenty years in prison, the magistrate said on state television.
Alleged staging
A total of 21 active, retired and civilian military personnel were arrested in connection with the coup attempt, during which troops equipped with tanks besieged the presidential palace for several hours before retreating.
General Zuñiga claimed to have acted on the orders of the president, who had asked him to “to stage something to increase its popularity”. Mr. Arce vigorously denied: “How could one order or plan a self-coup? (…) He acted on his own initiative.”.
With this failed coup, Bolivia enters a new period of political turbulence against a backdrop of economic crisis. The 2025 presidential election whets appetites, while unease reigns within the military institution against a backdrop of popular discontent over rising prices and shortages in a country whose gas and lithium resources are attracting international interest.