During his arrest, the dismissed General Zuñiga said that he met with Luis Arce over the weekend and that the president asked him to do something to “boost” his popularity.
The Government of Bolivia has expressed this Thursday its most forceful rejection of the version of the “self-coup d’état” given by the alleged leaders of the attempted military uprisingalready detained by the country’s security forces, and has assured that it is a “false, inconceivable and reckless” idea.
On the contrary, supporters of the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (2006-2019) have said that the military takeover of Plaza Murillo was a “self-coup” and have pointed to the current president as the “intellectual author”, Luis Arceand the vice president, David Choquehuanca.
On the eve, he dismissed general Juan José Zuñiga He was arrested by the police and during his arrest he said that over the weekend he met with Arce and that the president asked him to do something to “raise” his popularity, so he brought out the tanks.
The Minister of the Presidency, Maria Nela Prada, has condemned this information and has stressed that the words of General Zúñiga, the main suspect of leading the coup, are “absolutely false.” Thus, he has accused some military actors of “taking their small slice of political positioning, solely with personal interests, trying to distort what happened.”
In this regard, he stressed that What happened on Wednesday afternoon in Plaza Murillolocated in the center of the city of La Paz, was an “unusual military movement” that “led by Juan José Zúñiga, stormed and forcibly opened, with a tank, the door of the former presidential palace.”
However, he has clarified that “what was experienced is an attempted coup, a failed coup that has been stopped” and has rejected this type of “totally reckless statements that go against upholding respect for our Constitution and our democracy,” according to collected the diary Duty.
The Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, has previously denied that it was a “simulation.” “How can we talk about a drill, a fraudulent coup attempt, when we already have the main leaders currently detained? How can we debate such a sensitive issue (…) when at this moment there are 12 injured?” has asserted.
Morales followers: “When have you seen a coup by the military with pellets?”
“They have made a mockery of the country. This president no longer knows how to raise his image (…) the intellectual author is Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca and the material author is (General Juan José) Zuñiga,” said the vice president of the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS), Gerardo Garcia.
“When has there been a coup by the military with pellets? When has there been a coup in which (the military) have to dialogue with the president?” García recriminated.
When there were coups d’état, “the military came in to kill, with bullets, to subdue the president and the ministers. They went straight in to torture them and put them in prison,” García continued.
For his part, the MAS lawyer Wilfredo Chavezwho was a minister in the Morales government, has said that the events of Wednesday were intended to “raise the image of Lucho (Arce) and cover up the poor management, to cover up the fact that there is no gasoline, that there are no dollars.”
Chavez has said that units such as the Colorados Battalion of Bolivia, the Military House of the Government Palace and the Tactical Police Operations Unit (UTOP), in charge of government security, did not act in response to the military takeover of Plaza Murillo. “They have handed over Plaza Murillo to the military. How can it not be a self-coup?” he added.
The MAS lawyer has pointed out that Zuñiga’s intention “was to arrest Evo Morales,” as he stated in a television program on Monday, and that despite everything “they have not been able to.”
Source: Eitb
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