Bolivian General Arrested After Apparent Coup Attempt

The Army general accused of being behind a failed coup Wednesday against Bolivia's government was arrested, after the attempt that included armored vehicles ramming the doors of the government palace in La Paz. That was followed by Bolivia's president facing down the general in the palace, the AP reports. President Luis Arce had announced in a video message, surrounded by his Cabinet, that he was standing firm against the revolt. "The country is facing an attempted coup d'état. Here we are, firm in Casa Grande, to confront any coup attempt," he said. "We need the Bolivian people to organize." The coup seemed to fizzle out for lack of support, per the AP.

Video on Bolivian television showed Arce confronting the general commander of the Army, Juan Jose Zuniga, in a palace hallway, the AP reports. "I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination," Arce said. Before entering the government building, Zuniiga told journalists in the plaza: "Surely soon there will be a new Cabinet of ministers; our country, our state cannot go on like this." Zuniga said that "for now" he recognizes Arce as commander in chief. Reuters reports that Zuniga told a local TV station: "The three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay."

Arce named a new army commander, who ordered troops to stand down. The soldiers pulled back behind a line of military vehicles as hundreds of Arce's supporters rushed the square outside the palace, waving Bolivian flags and cheering. Surrounded by ministers, Arce waved at the crowd singing the national anthem. "Thank you to the Bolivian people," he said. "Let democracy live on." But just before his arrest, Zuniga claimed Arce asked him to storm the palace in a political move. "The president told me: 'The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity,'" Zuniga told reporters. He said he asked Arce if he should "take out the armored vehicles," and Arce replied, "Take them out." (More Bolivia stories.)