Juan José Zuniga, a Bolivian general, born in 1972, was appointed army commander in November 2022. He is known for his military intelligence, his knowledge of the movements of political leaders, and his strong opposition to the former Bolivian president. Evo Morales.
Due to his closeness to the mining and union sectors, some local media outlets described him as the “people’s leader”. He was arrested on June 27, 2024, after planning a failed coup attempt, having been dismissed from his post the day before.
Birth and scientific formation
Juan José Zúñiga, originally from Potosí, Onisa, was born in 1972 in Cochabamba and graduated from the Universidad Mayor de San Simón as a lawyer.
Military experience
In 2013, Zuniga was accused of embezzling 2.7 million Bolivian bolivianos (about 362 thousand dollars) that were intended to finance pensions, school stipends, and travel expenses for the army. This money was intended to pay government bonds when he was commander of the Max Toledo Regiment, and he was subsequently arrested in January 2014 for a period of time. 7 days.
The Bolivian president appointed him army commander in November 2022, and ratified the decision in January 2023, when President Luis Arce made changes in military authority, even though he had been ranked 48th (out of 65) in qualifications for promotion.
Disagreements arose between Zúñiga and Arce after Zúñiga announced his opposition to the candidacy of former president Evo Morales (who served 3 terms) for the 2025 elections, and made a series of accusations against him, saying that he “can no longer be president of this country” and “legally he is no longer qualified”, so he was dismissed from his position the day before the coup for “exceeding his powers”.
The former chief of staff was accused of being one of the main elements of the military organization “Pachacho”, which reports say is working on a “black plan” aimed at orchestrating the persecution of political leaders and opponents, including Morales.
Bolivian police arrested Zuniga on June 26, 2024, after President Luis Arce dismissed him following his implementation of a failed coup attempt and his leadership of a military force that attempted to storm the presidential palace in the country. He was charged with terrorism and staging an armed uprising against the security and sovereignty of the state.
Earlier, Arce announced that the country was facing a military coup, and called for mobilization against the movements of some army units that stormed the National Palace.
The coup attempt began that day when a tank driven by Zuniga entered the presidential palace in the administrative capital, La Paz, and announced the “restructuring of democracy” and his move to “reform the system.”
Surrounded by military personnel, he said, “The armed forces are trying to restructure democracy, to make it a real democracy, and not the democracy of some masters who have been running the country for 30 or 40 years.”
Arce resisted the coup attempt and ordered Zuniga to withdraw his forces. Within less than 3 hours, the coup forces returned to their bases by order of Army Commander José Wilson Sanchez, who was appointed a day earlier to replace Zuniga.