La Paz, Bolivia– The Bolivian general accused of leading a failed coup was sent to a maximum-security prison Saturday as he faces charges of terrorism and starting an armed uprising.
“At some point the truth will be known,” says a handcuffed man. General Juan José Zúñiga He told reporters as he was escorted by two guards to the vehicle that will take him to the Chonchocoro maximum security prison, on the outskirts of La Paz.
“The rest are innocent. “They are innocent people,” he added. Two other former military leaders, including former Navy Vice Admiral Juan Arnez Salvador, were also taken to the same prison.
Zúñiga, who was arrested on Wednesday after the rebellion, said before being detained, without presenting evidence, that President Luis Arce ordered him to carry out the rebellion, something the Bolivian leader and his government have strenuously denied.
Arce told the AP on Friday that Zúñiga planned to “take over” the government and become president, and denied once again that Wednesday’s attack on the government palace was a “self-coup” designed to score him political points.
The authorities have arrested 21 people, including Zúñiga, who were detained in police facilities in La Paz. All of them face charges of armed uprising and terrorism.
Fourteen of those arrested appeared before a judge on Saturday.
Relatives of some of those detained said Friday they knew nothing of a plot, and some say their loved ones were simply “following orders” or they were told that they were carrying out a “military exercise.”
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