La Paz, June 28 (FN Agency) The number of people injured in Bolivia’s attempted coup has reached 14, some of whom have undergone surgery, the country’s president, Luis Arce, said on Friday. On Wednesday, local media reported the presence of the military at Murillo Square, the central square of Bolivia’s administrative capital La Paz, where government buildings are located. The military, led by former Commander-in-Chief Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga, then tried to break into the presidential palace. The Bolivian president, who was in the palace at the time, made an address to the nation, describing the events as a coup attempt, and formed a new army command, which called on the military to leave the square. The soldiers complied with the order. Zuniga was arrested later in the day. On Thursday, Bolivian Deputy Interior Minister Jhonny Aguilera said that nine people had sustained injuries during the attempted coup. “A total of 14 people have been injured, some of whom have undergone surgery,” Arce told reporters.
The Bolivian country’s military intelligence failed to duly notify the government, the president or the defense ministry of the prepared coup, Arce said, adding that someone from the trusted circle of Gen. Zuniga was in the intelligence services. “Bolivian Police General Commander [Alvaro Alvarez] arrived at about the same time [as Bolivian Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo], providing us with some partial information and saying that those commanders [who participated in the coup] called on him to join yesterday’s coup attempt. He also told us that he had decided not to join these actions because he had given his word a few days earlier, on the anniversary of the police, to defend the democratic process. I appreciate this attitude of the Bolivian police, and, of course, the situation was already very clear,” Arce said in a separate televised statement broadcast by DNews. The Bolivian government is currently working on investigating possible ways the coup may have received foreign funding, Aguilera told the Urgente.bo news outlet earlier in the day, adding that the investigation was prompted by Zuniga’s claims he had foreign support.