Coup Attempt Fails In Bolivia; Army General Arrested

Bolivia witnessed a short-lived coup attempt after armoured vehicles rammed the doors of the government palace on Wednesday. However, Bolivian President Luis Arce vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander, who ordered troops to stand down. A senior Bolivian general was also arrested shortly after troops withdrew from the capital.

Reports suggest that Bolivia’s army general, Juan Jose Zuniga, made the attempt to take over the government of the South American country. President Luis Arce immediately called upon the public and the new military leadership to stand up for democracy. “To the Bolivian people and the entire international community, our country today is facing an attempted coup d’etat,” said the President in a video from the Presidential Palace, as quoted by Al Jazeera. Thousands of supporters of the president began to flood the square, waving Bolivian flags. World leaders from countries including Colombia and Brazil have denounced the incident. The US administration also said that it is keeping a close eye on incidents in Bolivia.

Meanwhile, former Navy Vice Admiral Juan Arnez Salvador was also taken into custody, according to The Independent. It is worth mentioning that right before Juan Jose Zuniga was arrested, he reportedly told the media that it was actually the president who told him to stage an uprising. The General also alleged that the President instructed to "stage something to raise his popularity."