Armoured vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivian government buildings as senior government officials warned of a possible coup attempt and President Luis Arce said there was an “irregular” military deployment in the capital.
Footage broadcast on Bolivian television showed President Arce confronting the army chief, Juan Jose Zuniga, in a palace corridor.
“I am your commanding officer. I order my soldiers to withdraw. This insubordination will not be tolerated,” Arce said.
“A new cabinet will be formed soon. Our country, our country, cannot continue like this,” Zuniga told reporters in the plaza before entering the government building.
Zúñiga said he recognized President Arce as commander in chief “for now.”
Bolivian President Luis Arce (Juan Calita/AP)
Bolivian television stations showed two tanks and several men in military uniforms in front of the government building in La Paz.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales also condemned the military's actions in Plaza Murillo outside the palace in a message on X, calling it a “coup in progress.”
Soldiers signal journalists to leave Plaza Murillo (Juan Calita/AP)
He spoke on television about an “assault on democracy” but gave no details.
A senior Bolivian official, Minister of the Presidency, Maria Nela Prada, said troops and tanks had taken over the square and called it an “attempted coup.”
“The people are on alert to protect our democracy,” she told local television station Red Uno.
The incident sparked a wave of outrage from other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States, President Gabriel Boric of neighboring Chile, the leader of Honduras and a former leader of Bolivia.
Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has seen intensifying protests in recent months over a steep economic decline that has turned the country from one of the continent's fastest-growing countries two decades ago into one of its most vulnerable.
Cracks are also visible at the highest levels of the ruling party, with Arce and his one-time ally, former president and leftist icon Morales, fighting over the future of the splintering Bolivian Socialist Movement (MAS), known by its Spanish acronym, ahead of 2025 elections.
