Bolivian soldiers led by the commanding general Bolivian Army rammed a tank into the doors of the Bolivian presidential palace on Wednesday morning, shattering them open.
“Surely soon there will be a new Cabinet of ministers; our country, our state cannot go on like this,” General Juan Jose Zuniga declared to reporters from the tank before he entered the palace, according to the Associated Press.
The soldiers clamored inside, where they confronted President Luis Acre. But in an extraordinary moment captured by local TV networks and re-posted online, Acre came face-to-face with Zuniga, staring him directly in the eyes as Zuniga’s soldiers crowded into the building.
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“I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Acre was heard telling Zuniga during the tense standoff.
Acre denounced the coup on his X account saying, “We denounce irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian Army. Democracy must be respected.”
Acre also called on his supporters to stand up to the coup and fight back in a video he recorded alongside his ministers before the soldiers stormed the palace.
Roberto Ríos Ibáñez, secretary-general of Bolivia’s trade union confederation, similarly called on Bolivians to launch a general strike in resistance to the coup.
Over the past six months, the Acre government has struggled with the lack of U.S. dollars in circulation, which is the preferred currency among many in the country, leading to widespread discontent, according to the Associated Press.
