Bolivia Ex-President Evo Morales Accuses Successor Luis Arce of Being Behind Failed Coup

Accusations that Bolivia President Luis Arce orchestrated a coup to boost his popularity have intensified despite the president denying those accusations recently. This time, his predecessor and former ally, former President Evo Morales, who will be running against Arce in next year's election, has joined the fray.

Morales has now accused Arce of deceiving Bolivians by staging a "self-coup" last week, as his ally-turned-rival has been declining in popularity amid Bolivia's continued economic woes. Morales initially condemned the coup but has since gone on to attack his predecessor over it.

On Sunday, Morales joined others who doubted the authenticity of the Bolivian coup d'etat and stated that the incident was merely Arce's attempt to win the sympathy of Bolivians at a time when his popularity is extremely low, according to the Associated Press.

Morales claimed that his successor "disrespected the truth, deceived us, lied, not only to the Bolivian people but to the whole world." Soon after, the former president then called for an independent investigation into the failed coup on X, formerly Twitter.

The coup was led by former Gen. Juan José Zuñiga, who was then the chief of the Army. However, before he was arrested, the former general threw the authenticity of the coup into doubt when he claimed, "The president told me: 'The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity."

Presidential Minister María Nela Prada shot back at Evo Morales, stating that he should not "become a puppet, a marionette and an instrument of imperialism that intends to plunder our country," adding that the "fascist right" wanted to "distort history."

"What I condemn even more is that from people like Evo Morales, who claim to be leftists, there is ideological fluctuation around what are coups d'état and failed coups d'état in our country," she stated on state TV.

Multiple High-Ranking Bolivia Military Officials Arrested After Failed Coup D'etat

After the arrest of former army chief Gen. Juan Jose Zúñiga and former navy commander Gen. Juan Arnez, a massive round-up of other high-ranking Bolivian military officials began, leading to the arrests of over a dozen alleged coup plotters.

Bolivia defense minister Edmundo Novillo stated that after the arrests, the government had regained "total and absolute control" over its military and added, "We urge the population that everything goes back to normal."

According to CNN, investigations into the coup will continue until all the "participants" are identified. They are also reportedly investigating the country's Air Force commander's involvement in the failed coup, but his name did not appear on any list of those who were arrested.

Bolivia Coup Leader Transferred to Maximum Security Prison

Meanwhile, according to Jurist news, General Juan José Zuñiga has already been transferred to the maximum security El Abra Prison after his attempted coup to out President Luis Arce from office. The transfer came after prisoners, where he was previously held, had targeted the former military leader.

The move also came after the Fifth Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Zuñiga, as well as former Navy commander Juan Arnez and former commander of the Army's Mechanized Brigade Edison Irahola, would be remanded to prison for six months while investigations are ongoing.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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