Bolivian police arrested Army Commander General Juan José Zuniga, after President Luis Arce dismissed him and accused him of carrying out a “failed coup attempt.”
Scenes broadcast on state television showed the moments of Zuniga’s arrest, while he was speaking to journalists in front of a military barracks.
The police forced the general into a police car, and Interior Secretary Johnny Aguilera spoke to him, saying: “You are under arrest, General.”
On Wednesday, Bolivian soldiers withdrew from in front of the presidential palace in La Paz, after they tried using armored vehicles to storm President Arce’s headquarters. The president accused the army commander, Zuniga, of carrying out a “coup attempt,” and the leaders of Mexico and Honduras condemned this attempt.
Before his arrest, Zuniga claimed that President Luis Arce himself asked him to stage a mock rebellion in order to raise his popularity before the elections.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales called on democracy supporters to strike and close roads.
Morales wrote on social media that a group from the Special Chalapata Regiment had taken over Plaza Murillo with snipers, indicating that the coup was planned in advance.
Morales urged democratically minded people to defend the homeland against military groups working against democracy and the people.
Riyad Mahrez refuses to participate in friendly matches for the Algerian national team