Bolivia’s president denounces ‘irregular mobilization’ of military

Bolivia’s President Luis Arce denounced the “irregular mobilization of certain units of the Bolivian military” in La Paz on Wednesday in a post on X amid claims that the army was mounting a coup. “You need to respect democracy,” he said.

Military tanks were reportedly positioned around a main square in La Paz where the national executive and legislative offices are, according to state media agency ABI. It is unclear why military units are in the Murillo Plaza and how many there are.

The former President Evo Morales, who like the incumbent is in Bolivia’s Movement to Socialism (MAS) party, said on X that a “coup d’état is brewing.” Morales also called on “the social movements of the countryside and the city to defend democracy.”

Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), a pan-American organization, Luis Almagro, condemned the mobilizations in the “most energetic way” on X, saying the “army must submit to the legitimately elected civil power.”

According to ABI, the military mobilization began around 2:30 p.m. local time.

This is a developing story and will be updated.