Bolivia’s president says he survived an attempted military coup on Wednesday when Bolivia’s former Army chief deployed soldiers and tanks to government buildings, including the presidential palace in La Paz. In a dramatic showdown captured on live television, President Luis Arce directly confronted the rogue military commander, the dismissed Army chief General Juan José Zúñiga, demanding he stand down and withdraw his forces. After armored vehicles pulled back from the presidential palace, Arce addressed thousands of protesters who rallied against the attempted coup. 

President Luis Arce: “It fills us with bravery, courage to keep resisting, to keep on resisting any coup attempt, because Bolivia deserves its democracy, which has been won in the streets and with blood brothers and sisters. … The people involved in the coup wanted to surprise us and the Bolivian people. We have reacted, and also the people have mobilized against this coup attempt. Thank you to the Bolivian people.”

Hours after the failed coup, Bolivian authorities arrested General Zúñiga, along with an alleged co-conspirator, Navy chief Juan Arnez. As he was being arrested, Zúñiga told reporters the apparent coup had been organized by Arce himself to boost his low approval ratings. President Arce, meanwhile, has sworn in new heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force. We’ll have more on the attempted coup in Bolivia later in the broadcast.