The Latest | Bolivian general apparently behind failed coup claims president asked for uprising

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — An apparent failed coup attempt erupted Wednesday in Bolivia, where armored vehicles rammed into the doors of the government palace and President Luis Arce said the country stood firm against attacks on democracy.

Arce confronted the general commander of the army — Juan José Zúñiga, who appeared to be leading the rebellion — in the palace hallway, saying, “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination.”

Bolivian television showed two tanks and a number of men in military uniform outside the building, but troops and armored vehicles later began to pull back. Supporters of Arce flooded into the plaza outside soon afterward, waving Bolivian flags.

Arce said the day has been “atypical in the life of country that wants democracy.” He decried what he called “an attempted coup by troops who are staining the uniform, who are attacking our constitution.”

Arce also replaced the heads of the armed forces, and Zúñiga was later arrested.

Tensions have been brewing for months, with protesters streaming into the capital amid a severe economic crisis as two political titans battle for control of the ruling party.

The army general apparently behind a failed coup attempt has claimed that the president asked him to storm the government palace in a political move.

Shortly before he was arrested Wednesday, Juan José Zúñiga told reporters: “The president told me: ‘The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity.’”

Zúñiga said he asked President Luis Arce if he should “take out the armored vehicles?” and Arce replied, “Take them out.”

Arce has not commented on Zúñiga's claim. The Associated Press has asked the Ministry of the Presidency, but there has been no immediate reply.

Bolivian authorities say the army general apparently behind the failed coup attempt has been arrested after the attorney general opened an investigation against him.

Juan José Zúñiga was previously replaced by President Luis Arce, along with other heads of the armed forces, while the rebellion was still underway. It was not immediately clear what the charges against Zúñiga were.

Before entering the government palace earlier Wednesday, Zúñiga told journalists in the plaza outside: “Surely soon there will be a new Cabinet of ministers; our country, our state cannot go on like this.” Zúñiga said that “for now” he recognized Arce as commander in chief.

Zúñiga did not explicitly say whether he was leading a coup, but in the palace, with bangs echoing behind him, he said the army was trying to “restore democracy and free our political prisoners.”

Bolivian President Luis Arce has addressed supporters who gathered in Plaza Murillo, outside the governmental palace, after Wednesday's apparent failed coup attempt.

“Many thanks to the Bolivian people. ... Long live democracy,” Arce said.

People then began singing the South American country's national anthem.

Vice President David Choquehuanca told the crowd, “Never again will the Bolivian people allow coups d'etat.”

Chile is among foreign governments that are condemning what appeared to be a failed coup attempt in neighboring Bolivia.

President Gabriel Boric told reporters that he “immediately” contacted his Bolivian counterpart to offer his “solidarity.”

“We condemn this coup attempt. We call for institutions to function, for the constitution and the laws to be respected,” he added. “We hope that no one is injured and that the legitimate government of President Luis Arce remains in place and can continue with the mandate that the Bolivian people have voted for.”

Boric said the matter would be raised Thursday before the Organization of American States.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed the European bloc's strong support for constitutional order and the rule of law in Bolivia.

Troops and armored vehicles have begun to pull back from Bolivia's government palace.

Supporters of President Luis Arce flooded into the plaza outside and waved Bolivian flags soon afterward.

Arce said the day has been “atypical in the life of country that wants democracy.”

He decried what he called “an attempted coup by troops who are staining the uniform, who are attacking our constitution.”

Arce praised those troops who obey the constitution and “wear their uniform with pride.”

“We deplore the attitudes of bad troops who regrettably repeat history by trying to carry out a coup when the Bolivian people have always been a democratic people,” he added.

Bolivian President Luis Arce has announced new heads of the army, navy and air force. That includes the position of the army general commander, Juan José Zúñiga, who appears to be leading the rebellion.

New army chief José Wilson Sánchez is ordering all mobilized troops to return to their barracks. “No one wants the images we’re seeing in the streets,” he said.

Arce said that those who rose up against him were “staining the uniform.” He vowed that democracy would be respected.

Police with riot gear have put up fences around the government palace and the plaza outside.

Video from the streets showed armored vehicles driving away from the palace, followed by troops and journalists.

The leadership of Bolivia’s largest labor union has condemned what it calls an attempted coup d’état and declared an indefinite strike of social and labor organizations in La Paz in defense of the government.

Bolivian President Luis Arce has told the army general commander, who appeared to be leading the rebellion: “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination.”

Before entering the government palace, Juan José Zúñiga told journalists in the plaza outside that “Surely soon there will be a new Cabinet of ministers; our country, our state cannot go on like this.” Zúñiga said that “for now” he recognizes Arce as commander in chief.

Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday as President Luis Arce said the country faced an attempted coup, insisted he stands firm and urged people to mobilize.

In a video of Arce surrounded by ministers in the palace, he said: “The country is facing an attempted coup d’état. Here we are, firm in Casa Grande, to confront any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize.”

Arce confronted the general commander of the Army, Juan José Zúñiga, in the palace hallway, as shown on video on Bolivian television. “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

Supporters of Bolivian President Luis Arce crowd into Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia's government palace located in Plaza Murillo, in an apparent coup attempt on Wednesday against Arce, but he vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander who ordered troops to stand down. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Bolivian President Luis Arce, center, accompanied by Vice President David Choquehuanca, right, acknowledge supporters as they stand on a balcony of the government palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia's government palace Wednesday in an apparent coup attempt against Arce, but he vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander who ordered troops to stand down. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

An armored vehicle and military police form outside the government palace at Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivia's government palace Wednesday as President Luis Arce said the country faced an attempted coup. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A woman walks by military police in Plaza Murillo, in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivia's government palace located in Plaza Murillo, on Wednesday as President Luis Arce said the country faced an attempted coup. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Bolivia's general commander of the Army, Juan José Zúñiga, sits inside an armored vehicle parked on Plaza Murillo, outside government palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of the government palace Wednesday as President Luis Arce said the country faced an attempted coup. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Soldiers gather outside the Legislative Assembly in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Soldiers block the street in front of the presidential palace, right, and the Legislative Assembly, left, in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Soldiers walk amid tear gas they fired outside the Legislative Assembly in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

FILE - Bolivian President Luis Arce attends an Indigenous ritual before delivering his annual state of the nation address at the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Jan. 22, 2024. Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivia's government palace Wednesday, June 26, 2024, as a top government official warned of a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File) (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)

A soldier gestures for journalists to leave Plaza Murillo as soldiers gather outside the presidential palace in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Bolivian President Luis Arce warned Wednesday that an “irregular” deployment of troops was taking place in the capital, raising concerns that a potential coup was underway. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Military Police gather outside the main entrance as an armored vehicle rams into the door of the presidential palace in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Military Police stand amid tear gas they fired outside the presidential palace in Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Seesawing results released early Saturday in Iran’s presidential election put the race between little-known reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-liner Saeed Jalili, with the lead trading between the two men as a runoff vote appeared likely.

Iranian state television reported the results which did not initially put either man in a position to win Friday's election outright, potentially setting the stage for a second round of voting to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash last month.

So far, no turnout figures have been offered— a crucial component of whether Iran's electorate backs its Shiite theocracy after years of economic turmoil and mass protests.

Voters faced a choice between the three hard-line candidates and Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon.

After counting over 19 million votes, Pezeshkian had 8.3 million while Jalili held 7.18 million. Another candidate, hard-line parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, had some 2.67 million votes while Shiite cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi had over 158,000 votes.

Iranian law requires that a winner gets more than 50% of all votes cast. If not, the race’s top two candidates will advance to a runoff a week later. There’s been only one runoff presidential election in Iran’s history: in 2005, when hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bested former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

As has been the case since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and those calling for radical change have been barred from running, while the vote itself will have no oversight from internationally recognized monitors.

There had been calls for a boycott, including from imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the leaders of the 2009 Green Movement protests who remains under house arrest, has also refused to vote along with his wife, his daughter said.

There’s also been criticism that Pezeshkian represents just another government-approved candidate. In a documentary on the reformist candidate aired by state TV, one woman said her generation was “moving toward the same level” of animosity with the government that Pezeshkian’s generation had in the 1979 revolution.

Raisi, 63, died in the May 19 helicopter crash that also killed the country’s foreign minister and others. He was seen as a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a potential successor. Still, many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions that Iran conducted in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdowns on dissent that followed protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by police over allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.

The voting came as wider tensions have gripped the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups that Tehran arms in the region — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic continues to enrich uranium at near weapons-grade levels and maintains a stockpile large enough to build — should it choose to do so — several nuclear weapons.

Despite the recent unrest, there was only one reported attack around the election. Gunmen opened fire on a van transporting ballot boxes in the restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, killing two police officers and wounding others, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The province regularly sees violence between security forces and the militant group Jaish al-Adl, as well as drug traffickers.

Karimi reported from Tehran, Iran.

In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, reformist candidate for the Iranian presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian casts his ballot as he waves to media in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. (Majid Khahi, ISNA via AP)

A man casts his ballot during the presidential election as he holds a picture of the late President Ebrahim Raisi in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman fills out her ballot during the Iranian presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to media after casting his vote during the presidential election in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman prepares to casts her ballot during the presidential election at a polling station inside the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the country's foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to vote for the presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians voted Friday in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, with the race's sole reformist candidate vowing to seek "friendly relations" with the West in an effort to boost his campaign. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman prepares to casts her ballot during the presidential election at the Iranian consulate in Basra southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the country's foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jourani)

In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, hard-line former Iranian senior nuclear negotiator and candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili casts his ballot in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. (Alireza Sotakabr, ISNA via AP)