Bolivian armored vehicles and soldiers withdrew from around the country's presidential palace in the capital La Paz on Wednesday afternoon (local time), Reuters reported, after having moved in on the palace earlier in a coup attempt.
The army withdrew from the palace after President Luis Arce appointed new military chiefs, who in turn ordered that troops led by General Juan Jose Zuniga return home.
Arce had warned earlier on Wednesday that an “irregular” deployment of troops was taking place in the capital La Paz, raising concerns that a potential coup was underway, The Associated Press reported.
He called for “democracy to be respected” on a message on his X account. Meanwhile, Bolivian television showed two tanks and a number of military in front of the government palace before it was stormed by soldiers.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, also in a message on X, denounced the movement of the military in the Murillo square outside the palace, calling it a coup “in the making.”
"The three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay. There will be a new cabinet of ministers, surely things will change, but our country cannot continue like this any longer," General Juan Jose Zuniga was quoted by Reuters as having told a local TV station.
Honduras’ President Xiomara Castro, who serves as the interim president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), announced an emergency summit of the member states of the organization in the wake of the coup in Bolivia.