(La Paz) The Bolivian government announced Thursday the arrest of 17 people, including active duty and retired military personnel as well as several civilians, for their alleged links to Wednesday’s failed coup against left-wing President Luis Arce .

“A total of 17 people were apprehended for attempting to carry out a coup,” Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo said at a news conference.

Claiming to want to “restructure democracy,” General Juan José Zuniga, head of the army, and his men advanced Wednesday in tight ranks through the streets of La Paz to the presidential palace where they placed eight armored vehicles and threw tear gas at anyone trying to approach.

After several hours of occupation and an attempt to enter the building where President Luis Arce was, the general, in office since November 2022, withdrew with his troops to a barracks in the capital where he was arrested .

The arrest of a second military official, Juan Arnez Salvador, head of the Navy, was announced by the Minister of Government (Interior), Eduardo Del Castillo who castigated, during a press conference, “two putschist soldiers who wanted to destroy democracy.”

The two senior officers are being prosecuted for “armed uprising and terrorism”.

Before his arrest, General Zuniga had told journalists that he had acted on orders from the head of state who asked him on Sunday to “prepare something” to increase his popularity.

President Arce, a 60-year-old left-wing leader, in power since 2020 at the head of the Andean country, denounced Wednesday on the social network must be respected.”

According to AFP journalists on site, an armored vehicle tried to break down a metal door of the palace where General Zuniga entered briefly before coming out.

Inside the palace, President Arce deposed the rebels and swore in a new command of the armed forces, according to images broadcast live on national television.

“We are facing an attempted coup d’état by soldiers who are soiling the uniform,” the president denounced during the ceremony.

The soldiers withdrew in the early evening. Mr. Arce then went out onto the balcony of his palace to greet his supporters gathered by the hundreds in the square, saying: “no one can take away the democracy we have won.”

Former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) also affirmed on the social network

Since Tuesday, rumors of his dismissal have been circulating about the high-ranking official after his statements targeting Evo Morales, the country’s first indigenous president and former ally of Mr. Arce who has now become his greatest political opponent in the 2025 presidential elections.

The soldier thus affirmed on television on Monday that he would arrest the former head of state if he persisted in running for president – ​​even though the Constitutional Court banned him from doing so in December 2023.

After overstepping the Constitution to obtain a fourth term in 2019, Mr. Morales had to resign and temporarily flee the country amid social unrest and accusations of electoral fraud.  

Bolivia’s ruling party, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), is deeply divided between Mr. Arce and Mr. Morales, once allies and now adversaries in the 2025 presidential election.

Evo Morales is seeking, despite the decision of the Constitutional Court, the nomination on behalf of the MAS and accuses Luis Arce, who has not yet officially applied for candidacy, of corruption and tolerance towards drug trafficking.

Condemnations of General Zúñiga’s action on Wednesday poured in.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” and the Organization of American States (OAS) warned that “no violation of the constitutional order” in Bolivia would be tolerated.   

The United Nations on Thursday called for a thorough and impartial investigation into allegations of violence surrounding Bolivia’s failed coup and a fair trial for those detained.

“I am deeply concerned by Wednesday’s military incursion into the presidential palace in Bolivia,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said in a statement.

“It is essential that the Bolivian authorities, including the armed forces, guarantee full respect for human rights in all circumstances, protect the constitutional order and maintain peace,” he added.

“I urge the authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of violence and reports of injuries. Those responsible must be held to account and those detained in connection with these events must benefit from a fair trial,” stressed Volker Türk.

The United States said it was monitoring the situation “closely” and called for calm. Russia “strongly” condemned the coup attempt. Spain called for respecting democracy and the rule of law “in Bolivia.

The leaders of Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia called for respect for democracy. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X: “I am a lover of democracy and I want it to prevail throughout Latin America.”

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced an attempted “coup in Bolivia” orchestrated by “the extreme right with a military traitor.”