Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The Venezuelan government has categorically condemned the recent attempt to militarily destabilize democracy in Bolivia, as reported by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil via social media.

During the afternoon hours of this Wednesday, June 26, the Bolivian people and the democratic government, led by Luis Arce, neutralized a coup attempt led by the former Army High Commander José Zúñiga, who had been removed from his position prior to the coup attempt following political statements against the re-election of former President Evo Morales.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and rejects, in the most energetic way, the reckless attempted coup d’état against the elected government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, chaired by Luis Arce Catacora, executed by some traitorous military units in La Paz today,” wrote Minister Gil via social media.

Earlier, the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, made also strong condemnation statements against the coup attempt in Bolivia during a government event in Lara state.

 

Below, you can read the full unofficial translation of the statement:

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and rejects in the most energetic way, the reckless attempted Coup d’état, against the elected government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia chaired by Luis Arce Catacora, executed by some traitorous military units in La Paz on the day of today.

The Bolivarian Government calls on the International Community, especially the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), to mobilize in favor of Bolivian democracy and repudiate this new attempt that tries to impose a fascist and coup regime against the popular forces of our brother country.

Venezuela expresses its absolute support for the Bolivian people and its President Luis Arce, and accompanies them in the necessary actions to defeat this new attack on democracy, by groups protected by the dark forces that have tried to lead Latin America towards a state of systematic violations of the rights won by the social and popular movements of our region.

Caracas, June 26, 2024.

 

Regional response
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in the voice of its pro-tempore president, Honduran President Xiomara Castro, called for an urgent meeting of the CELAC presidents to address the crisis that was thankfully and effectively dealt with by the Bolivian people within a few hours.

“I urgently call on the presidents of the member countries of CELAC to condemn the fascism that today attacks democracy in Bolivia, and to demand full respect for civil power and the Constitution,” President Castro wrote on social media. “The military forces have once again carried out a criminal coup d’état. We express our unconditional support to our siblings, the people of Bolivia, to the president Luis Arce and to Evo Morales.”

The elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, called the uprising of some units of the Bolivian Armed Forces “an attack against democracy,” adding that Mexico “strongly condemns these events. We hold unconditional support for President Luís Arce and his people,” she announced via social media.

“The abuse of democracy and the Bolivian people, displayed in the images published in international and local media this afternoon in Bolivia, is outrageous,” wrote the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel. “We condemn the attempted coup d’état underway and extend all the solidarity of the Cuban government and people to our brother Luis Arce.”

 

The president of Brazil, Lula Da Silva, also rejected the attempt against the Bolivian democracy. “We condemn any form of coup d’état in Bolivia, and reaffirm our commitment to the people and democracy of our brother country,” Lula wrote.

For his part, current Mexican President López Obrador also rejected “the attempted coup d’état. Our total support and support is for President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora, the authentic democratic authority of our fraternal nation.”

 

The president of Colombia Gustavo Petro condemned the coup attempt and invited “all the Bolivian people to take their place in the democratic resistance,” saying that “Latin America must unite in favor of democracy. The Colombian embassy must grant refuge to those persecuted.”

“There will be no diplomatic relationship between Colombia and the dictatorship,” he wrote on social media. “An antidemocratic coup is and must be met with widespread mobilization of the people.”

 

Chilean President Gabriel Boric emphasized that his government expressed its support for democracy “in our sister country and for the legitimate government of President Luis Arce,” adding that they “strongly condemn the unacceptable action of force by a sector of that country’s army. We cannot tolerate any breach of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia or anywhere else.”

The governments of Guatemala and Paraguay also reaffirmed their support for Arce and made strong calls to respect both democracy and the rule of law. “Paraguay condemns the irregular mobilizations of the Bolivian army denounced by President Luis Arce. We make a strong call to respect democracy and the rule of law,” wrote the Paraguayan president, Santiago Peña.

 

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff