Bolivian military coup thwarted

June 26 (UPI) -- Late Wednesday, Bolivian President Luis Arce announced an attempted military coup by a recently dismissed general had failed.

Former Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga attempted the coup during the afternoon after government officials dismissed him from his military position Tuesday evening.

Arce rallied support from civilians and loyal military and overcame the attempted coup, which he confirmed later in the day.

Zuniga and the troops backing him eventually retreated from the area as the coup attempt failed, and Zuniga eventually was arrested.

"We denounce irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian Army," Arce said earlier in a translated post on X. "Democracy must be respected."

Members of the Bolivian military had occupied the political plaza in La Paz and used an armored vehicle to ram open the doors of the government palace Wednesday.

At that time, Zuniga stood on the palace's doorstep and said the Bolivian army, navy and air force were mobilized and that he had the support of local police.

Zuniga briefly entered the palace, according to local media.

According to observers, the reported dismissal might have been due to comments Zuniga made about former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who left office in 2019 and was replaced by Arce.