Head of State Luis Arce condemned the “irregular mobilization of some units of the Bolivian army.” Bolivian Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa expressed a similar sentiment.
According to the newspaper El Deber, the president met with the rebel general. Zúñiga was only in the Government Palace for a few minutes. As it became known, Arce asked him to withdraw troops from the center of La Paz, but he was rejected.
Shortly afterward, Arce held a government meeting via video conference and then addressed the nation. The President called on the population to mobilize against the “coup d’état” and in favor of democracy.
“We cannot allow coup attempts to take the lives of Bolivians again,” the president also stated.
The appointment of a new command of the armed forces was also announced. The land forces were directed by José Wilson Sánchez, the air force by Gerardo Sabala and the navy by Renán Ramírez. The new army commander immediately ordered the military to return to the barracks.
Subsequently, the military, who kept Murillo Square in the capital under their control, began to abandon it.
