Failed coup attempt in Bolivia
...most likely sponsored by the Outlaw US Empire.
As reported by several news media outlets (e.g. BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, etc. ), yesterday in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, there was an attempted coup d'état to forcibly remove the President of the Movement for Socialism Luis Arce, successor of Evo Morales (same party), a courageous president who was not afraid to challenge the Outlaw US Empire. The spark was the dismissal of army general Juan José Zúñiga, who threatened former president Evo Morales in recent days: General Zúñiga called for the release of political prisoners, including former President Janine Añez, who in 2019 had replaced the socialist Evo Morales, deposed and exiled from Bolivia to Mexico, by proxy for the Outlaw US Empire.
Zúñiga reacted to his dismissal by raiding the government palace with a tank and several dozen soldiers, announcing the “end of the country's socialist path”.
In South America, all presidents who are not in the service of Washington immediately condemned the coup attempt, as reported by Al Mayadeen:
In the meantime, in Bolivia, both the judiciary, former President Morales, the largest trade union and the population rallied around President Luis Arce. Even ordinary citizens took to the streets near the presidential palace to oppose the uprising.
The lack of support from a large part of the army, the police force and the population meant that the coup failed within a few hours. Zúñiga was arrested, along with other senior army officers, on charges of terrorism and armed revolt.
The fact that, while the coup was still ongoing, the Outlaw US Empire did not condemn the coup, but instead came out with the words “calm and restrain” speaks volumes, as does the phrase “we are closely monitoring the situation” (sources: Al Mayadeen and Reuters):
Earlier this week Bolivia's Foreign Ministry accused the US Embassy of interfering in the country's internal affairs, as reported by teleSUR. So, most likely the coup attempt was carried out with Washington's approval, because Bolivia is an ally of Moscow and Beijing. In fact, in December 2023 Bolivia’s government signed an agreement with Russia's Rosatom to initiate joint development of lithium deposits (source: Barron’s), two months ago the country announced its intention to join the BRICS, as reported by TV BRICS, and just a few weeks ago the president of Bolivia spoke with Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), as reported by MercoPress, confirming once again his intention to join BRICS. Clearly all of this must not have pleased Washington very much.
For the record, Bolivia is the 2nd country in the world with the largest lithium resources (see picture below) and Arce spoke about it both in his bilateral with Putin and with Russian businessmen interested in investing in Bolivia a few weeks ago, while at SPIEF.
Someone has to start digesting that South America is no longer what it was in the 1970s and 1980s, when coups 99% of the time were successful. And apparently South America is no longer the “backyard” of some criminals who organize and finance coups from embassies on the instructions of the parent company.
My, the State Dept./Agency are really losing their touch. They've been regularly swapping out inconvenient leaders as desired in this hemisphere for well over a century, it's their bread and butter.