Bolivian general accused of failed coup is transferred to a maximum-security prison

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The Bolivian general accused of leading a failed coup was sent Saturday to a maximum-security prison as he faces charges of terrorism and starting an armed uprising.

“At some point the truth will be known,” a handcuffed Gen. Juan José Zúñiga told journalists 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. The are innocent people,” he added. Two other former military chiefs, including former navy Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador, were also taken to the same prison.

Zúñiga, who was arrested Wednesday after the rebellion, said before being taken into custody, without providing evidence, that President Luis Arce ordered him to carry out the rebellion — something that the Bolivian leader and his government have vigorously denied.

Arce told the AP on Friday that Zúñiga planned to “take over” the government and become president, and he denied once again that Wednesday’s attack on the government palace was a “self-coup” designed to garner him political points.

Authorities have arrested 21 people, including Zúñiga, who were in custody in police facilities in La Paz. All of them face charges of armed uprising and terrorism.

Fourteen of the detainees appeared on Saturday before a judge.

Families of some of the detainees said Friday that they knew nothing of a plot, and some say that their loved ones were simply “following orders” or told they were carrying out a “military exercise.”

Senior Cabinet member Eduardo del Castillo, second left, waves from a balcony police station as people detained for their involvement in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt are escorted from their jail cells to be taken to the Chonchocoro maximum security prison, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Colonel Edison Alejandro Caero, detained for his involvement in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt, is escorted from a jail to be taken to Chonchocoro maximum security prison, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Juan Jose Zuniga, former commanding general of the Army, is escorted from a jail to be taken to Chonchocoro maximum security prison, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, June 29, 2024. Zuniga was detained for his involvement in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Juan Jose Zuniga, former commanding general of the Army, is escorted from a jail to be taken to Chonchocoro maximum security prison, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, June 29, 2024. Zuniga was detained for his involvement in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Juan Jose Zuniga, former commanding general of the army, is escorted from a jail to be taken to Chonchocoro maximum security prison, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, June 29, 2024. Zuniga was detained for his involvement in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl began pounding the southeast Caribbean on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm after becoming the earliest storm of that strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

The storm was expected to make landfall in the Windward Islands late Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as thousands of people hunkered down in homes and shelters. The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

“It’s going to be terrible,” Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said ahead of the storm and urged people to stay indoors “and wait this monster out.”

Beryl was located 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Grenada on Monday morning, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph). It was a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 35 miles (55 kilometers) from its center.

The storm had not made landfall yet, but officials in Barbados already received more than a dozen reports of roof damage, fallen trees and downed electric posts across the island, said Kerry Hinds, emergency management director.

Once Beryl passes, drones will assess damage and speed up response, said Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information. Before, it used to take two hours to receive information as crews fanned out across the island, versus seven minutes with drones, he noted.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for St. Lucia, Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch was issued for Haiti’s entire southern coast, and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti.

Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet (3 meters) in areas where Beryl will make landfall, with 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15 centimeters) of rain for Barbados and nearby islands and possibly 10 inches in some areas (25 centimeters), especially in Grenada and the Grenadines.

“This is a very dangerous situation,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The storm was expected to weaken slightly over the Caribbean Sea on a path that would take it just south of Jamaica and later toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1.

“It should be emphasized that Beryl is forecast to remain a significant hurricane during its entire trek across the Caribbean region,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Officials in some southeast Caribbean islands announced controlled shutdowns of electricity and warned of water outages ahead of the storm, urging people to seek shelter. They warned of landslides and flash flooding as they shuttered schools, airports and government offices.

Hours before the storm, Barbadian Michael Beckles said he feared the worst for his island despite witnessing how people were taking it seriously.

“As prepared as we can try to be, there are a lot of things that we can’t control,” he said. “Electricity probably will go. We’ll have issues with water. There are a lot of houses that are not ready for a storm like this.”

Beryl strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

It also was the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.

“This is a dangerous hurricane for the Windward Islands," said hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry, who warned that when Beryl comes ashore, “it’s going to be a very serious situation.”

Beryl amassed its strength from record warm waters that are hotter now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September, he said.

Beryl also marked the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

Among those weathering the storm was Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, who had traveled to Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event. He and his family were now stuck there with scores of other fans, their flights canceled on Sunday.

He said it's the first time he has experienced a hurricane, with heavy rain starting at midnight. He and his family have been praying, as well as taking calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.

“We couldn’t sleep last night,” Parmar, 47, said. “We were keeping an eye on it.”

Even as Beryl bore down on the southeast Caribbean, government officials warned about a cluster of thunderstorms mimicking the hurricane’s path that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.

“There’s always a concern when you have back-to-back storms,” Lowry said. “If two storms move over the same area or nearby, the first storm weakens the infrastructure, so the secondary system doesn’t need to be as strong to have serious impacts.”

Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeast Mexico and killed four people.

On Sunday night, a tropical depression near the eastern Mexico coastal city of Veracruz briefly strengthened into Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the season. It weakened on Monday and was downgraded back to a tropical depression forecast to move inland. The National Hurricane Center early Monday reported heavy rainfall and flooding, with the possibility of mudslides, before the storm dissipates.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

A resident carries wood to cover his house's windows in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People disassemble a beach bar's awning in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People walk off the beach after attending a religious gathering in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeast Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Sailboats line up to enter a marina ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Speightstown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)