Bolivia president Arce: Bolivia is facing a coup attempt

In a message on his X account, Arce called for “democracy to be respected.” It came as Bolivian television showed two tanks and a number of men in military uniform in front of the government palace.

I Demand general Zuniga to demobilize military troops , he added.

Later , Bolivia president Arce said that Bolivia is facing a coup attempt

The Commander of the Bolivian Army announces that all forces are in a state of mobilization and alert and are demanding a complete change of government.

María Nela Prada, minister of the presidency and a top Bolivian officials, said military and tanks were taking over the plaza, calling it an “attempted coup d’etat.”

“The people are on alert to defend democracy,” she said to local television station Red Uno.

The incident was met with a wave of outrage by other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States; Gabriel Boric, the president of neighboring Chile; Honduras’s leader, and former Bolivian leaders.

Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.

The country also has seen a high-profile rift at the highest levels of the governing party. Arce and his one-time ally, leftist icon and former President Morales, have been battling for the future of Bolivia’s splintering Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections in 2025.