Juan José Zúñiga Macías is a former

Bolivian Army The Bolivian Army () is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. Figures on the size and composition of the Bolivian army vary considerably, with little official data available. It is estimated that the army has between 26,000 and 6 ...

officer who served as the General of the Bolivian Army from November 2022 until his dismissal in June 2024 following his role in the coup d'état attempt against the President

Luis Arce Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (; born 28 September 1963), often referred to as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician serving as the 67th president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism (Bolivia), Movement fo ...

Early life and military career

Early life

Juan Zúñiga Macías was born in Uncía municipality, Bolivia. After finishing primary and secondary education, he entered the Bolivian Army and graduated in 1990, placing 48th out of 65 officers.

Military career

Zúñiga served as colonel of the REIM-23 Max Toledo regiment between 2012 and 2013. He was charged with the embezzlement of Bs2.7 million intended for the '' Renta Dignidad'' and '' Juancito Pinto''

cash transfer A cash transfer is a direct transfer payment of money to an eligible person. Cash transfers are either unconditional cash transfers or conditional cash transfers. They may be provided by organisations funded by private donors, or a local or regio ...

schemes and well for traveling abroad without permission during his tenure and was tortured for seven days. He subsequently worked as a police officer. After serving as Chief of Staff and brigadier general, Zúñiga was appointed as commanding general of the Bolivian Army through a decree by

on 1 November 2022.

Conflict with Evo Morales

On 24 June 2024, Zuñiga announced that the Bolivian Armed Forces would arrest former President

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to come ...

if he ran as a candidate in the next presidential elections in 2025. In threats made against Morales, he described the former president as a "traitor" and accused him of plotting a revolution against the current government, while stating that the

Constitution of Bolivia The current Constitution of Bolivia (; English ''Political Constitution of the State'') came into effect on 7 February 2009 when it was promulgated by President Evo Morales, after being approved in a referendum with 90.24% participation. The re ...

would prevent Morales from returning to power. Following Zuñiga's proclamation, he was relieved of his post of commanding general on 25 June 2024. Prior to this event, Zuñiga was accused by Evo Morales of being the commander of the military organization Pachajcho, allegedly plotting to eliminate the former president as part of a "black plan" against

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or ...

production leaders and political opponents.

2024 coup attempt

He was the primary leader behind the 2024 Bolivian coup attempt on 26 June, attempting to "restore democracy". President

called on Zúñiga to demobilize soldiers who had taken over the main square of

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

. Zúñiga was detained by police soon after. Zúñiga claimed that on 23 June—before the events had begun, which led to his arrest—he had met with Luis Arce; Zúñiga alleged that during their meeting, Arce had stated that to boost his popularity, he would attempt a

self-coup A self-coup, also called an autocoup () or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. The le ...

; Zúñiga alleged that Arce had ordered Zúñiga to assist in this self-coup by deploying tanks into the streets. As of 28 June 2024, Zúñiga and several other suspects in the coup attempt are currently detained in the Chonchocoro maximum-security prison outside La Paz following an order for their six-month pre-trial detention.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zúñiga, Juan José Bolivian generals Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century births Prisoners and detainees of Bolivia People from Potosí Department