Bolivian President Luis Arce called for respect for democracy on Wednesday after soldiers and tanks deployed outside the government building and tried to break down the doors of the presidential palace.
Soldiers stand guard outside the presidential palace at Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
An AFP journalist saw soldiers and tanks entering Plaza Murillo, the historic square where the presidential palace and parliament are located, with one tank trying to smash down the palace's metal gates.
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Bolivian television reported that army commander Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga briefly entered the presidential palace before leaving on foot.
“I condemn the illegal mobilization of certain elements of the Bolivian army,” Arce wrote on the social network X. “Democracy must be respected.”
It is unclear whether he was at the Oval Office.
“A coup is happening,” former President Evo Morales wrote on X.
“We call for the people to come together to defend democracy,” he said, adding that the coup had been planned by Zúñiga.
Rumors have been circulating since Tuesday that Zuniga is on the verge of being fired.
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Military officials said in a television appearance on Monday that they would arrest Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, if he seeks re-election in 2025 despite being disqualified from running.
Morales was hugely popular until 2019, when he ignored the constitution and sought a fourth term as president.
The leftist and former coca union leader won the election but was forced to resign and flee the country amid deadly protests over allegations of electoral fraud.
He returned after his ally-turned-foe, Luis Arce, won the presidential election in October 2020.
Morales' supporters blocked roads for several days in January to protest his disqualification.
The Organization of American States (OAS) also condemned the troop transfer.
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“The international community and the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) will not tolerate any form of violation of the legitimate constitutional order, in Bolivia or anywhere else,” Secretary-General Luis Almagro said.
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