Speaking yesterday morning, just over 12 hours after the fleeting insurrection in La Paz, Bolivia's minister of government, Eduardo Del Castillo, accused the former army chief, Gen Juan José Zúñiga Macías, and the former head of the navy, the rear admiral Juan Arnez Salvador, of leading a group of putschists who had "conspired to bring down a democratically elected government".
"They will be charged with crimes that could see them jailed for between 15 and 30 years," Del Castillo told the local TV channel Unitel.
The minister claimed conspirators had been plotting "this attempt to destroy democracy" for at least three weeks before security forces seized control of the Plaza Murillo in La Paz at about 2.30pm on Wednesday and forced their way into the government palace, Palacio Quemado.
Before a retreat from the scene in a bulletproof vehicle and custody, Zúñiga told reporters his aim was to establish "a true democracy".
In his television interview, Del Castillo claimed that on Tuesday night, the eve of the alleged revolt, Arce and Zúñiga had met in the presence of another senior minister and that the president had informed the army chief he was being relieved of his duties because his conduct "was not in line with the political constitution". Zúñiga supposedly replied:
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Dewsbury-Hall delivers as Gent hit by goal rush
With every result, Enzo Maresca is making Chelsea believe again.
'My home record is bloody good so it's hard to match that'
Chris Woakes is ready for the challenge of leading England's Test attack in Pakistan and justifying Brendon McCullum's faith in his ability overseas
Brewer to reduce emissions by making beer using heat pump
An independent brewery in West Sussex is poised to become the first in Britain to make its beer using an ultra-high-temperature heat pump in place of an oil boiler.
Carmakers complain of pressure to hit EV targets despite record sales in September
UK electric car sales hit a record high in September, even as bosses from major carmakers told the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, that government targets were putting too much pressure on the industry.
Bank of England monitoring crisis in the Middle East 'extremely closely'
The Bank of England is monitoring the Middle East crisis amid fears that a worsening conflict between Iran and Israel will make it impossible to stabilise oil prices and leave the global economy vulnerable to a 1970s-style energy shock.
'Speak the truth' Russia's opposition is rocked by claims over attack on Navalny ally
When Leonid Volkov, a longtime associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was brutally attacked with a hammer outside his home in Lithuania in March, it initially seemed yet another case of the Kremlin hunting down its enemies abroad.
Deaths from Hurricane Helene pass 200 a week after storm
A week after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the US, search-and-rescue teams are continuing to search for missing people in parts of the south-east that were devastated by the storm.
Book claims Trump axed hardline migrant policy after Melania intervened
Melania Trump describes in her new memoir how she made her husband, then president Donald Trump, drop a signature hardline immigration policy under which migrant children were separated from their parents, stoking domestic and international uproar.
Centrepoint says councils illegally turn away homeless young people
Hundreds of homeless young people, including dozens who are pregnant or have children, are being illegally turned away by councils when they ask for help.
White women eligible to donate stem cells on NHS for first time
Millions of women are now eligible to donate stem cells on the NHS for the first time amid rising demand for life-saving transplants and a drive to reduce reliance on expensive imports.
