Bolivian General Juan José Zúñiga, accused of leading a failed coup against President Luis Arce, He was transferred from prison for security reasonsannounced the prison authority.
The former army commander had been held in the maximum security prison of Chonchocoro, on the outskirts of El Alto, a municipality neighbouring La Paz, by order of a judge who imposed a six-month preventive detention.
However, this same Saturday He was taken from there and interned in El Abra, a maximum security prison in the department of Cochabamba. (center), according to Juan Carlos Limpias, director of the Penitentiary System.
The authorities ordered the transfer to protect his safety, given the “rejection” of the prisoners at Chonchocoro, who declared him “persona non grata,” Limpias explained in a statement to the press.
Zúñiga had been held in the first prison along with Vice Admiral Juan Arnez, former head of the Navy; and Alejandro Irahola, former head of the Army’s mechanized brigade.
Arnez and Irahola will remain in custody at Chonchocoro, the prison chief said.
On Friday, June 28, The court ordered the imprisonment of the three former military leaders while investigations continue into the armed uprising of last Wednesday, June 26, when troops with tanks besieged the Government headquarters for several hours before retreating.
This Saturday, the Police deployed a strong security device for his transfer from a prison in La Paz.
“At some point the truth will be known,” said Zúñiga, who was handcuffed and without a bulletproof vest as he was led to a police vehicle.
Plan to mobilize aircraft
At the time of his capture last Wednesday, the former military chief stated that it was Arce who asked him to prepare something “to raise his popularity,” which was denied by the Bolivian president.
Zúñiga and the other two officers face charges of terrorism and armed uprisingfor which they could receive a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Along with them, 18 other active military personnel, retired soldiers and civilians have been detained for the failed coup d’état.
The Government assured this Saturday that it found evidence about the plan that The military had to mobilize special forces by plane from the department of Tarija (south) to La Pazwith the intention of striking a blow against Arce.
“We have found a radiogram with which the plane that is (…) in the Ministry of Government had been instructed to be transferred to the department of Tarija, to bring the satinating groups,” said the Minister of Government (Interior), Eduardo Del Castillo, to the press.
General Zúñiga has been identified from the beginning as the main person responsible for the conspiracy against the leftist president of Bolivia, who took power in 2020 for a five-year term.
The former army commander was arrested after troops and armoured vehicles withdrew, without any clashes with forces loyal to the government.
During the military rebellion, 14 civilians were injured by rubber bullets fired by soldiers when they entered the plaza where the presidential palace is located in the center of La Paz, according to Arce’s government.
Keep reading:
• Evo Morales warns of a “coup d’état” in Bolivia and calls to “defend democracy”
• In photos: this is how the military took over the central square of La Paz, Bolivia
• Who is Juan José Zúñiga, the general who led the takeover of the central square of La Paz, in an “attempted coup d’état”