The leader of the air force, praised by Luis Arce for not participating in the coup, has been arrested

Marcelo Javier Zegarra, the commander of the Bolivian Air Force during the coup attempt in Bolivia, was arrested on Friday. This came just hours after President Luis Arce publicly thanked him for not giving in to the attempted coup. Zegarra, along with General Juan José Zúñiga, entered Plaza Murillo in front of the Palacio Quemado, leading to a total of 21 individuals being detained for the coup attempt.

During a press conference the night before, President Arce described a tense moment with General Zúñiga where he confronted Zegarra. Despite this, Arce later expressed gratitude towards Zegarra for his actions. The Minister of Government had also praised Zegarra’s reflection on the situation. However, on Friday, Minister Eduardo del Castillo confirmed that Zegarra had been apprehended.

Zegarra voluntarily submitted himself for questioning with two lawyers present. Following his statement, the Public Ministry determined his arrest based on the evidence gathered. The arrests of the heads of the three Bolivian armed forces have now been completed, with Zegarra being the last high-ranking official taken into custody.

Additionally, Captain Miguel Ángel Burgos, who commanded the operation to destroy the gate of the Quemado Palace with a tank, was arrested along with two sergeants. The government reported that there was communication within the group through a phone application called FaceTime. Aníbal Aguilar Gómez and Juan Mario Paulsen, two civilians, were also arrested, with Aguilar Gómez being identified as the “ideologist” of the failed coup.

The government stressed that there were ongoing communications between Army officials that led to the arrests of Edison Irahola and Juan Delgadillo. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is also searching for three retired soldiers in connection to the attempted coup. Overall, the Bolivian government is aggressively pursuing all individuals involved in the coup attempt to ensure accountability and justice.