The ‘ideologist’ of the military takeover in Bolivia was an advisor to the office of the Minister of Defense: this is his identity

ANDBolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo reported that the so-called “ideologist” of the military takeover on June 26, Anibal Aguilarworked as an advisor to his office.

Aguilar was arrested hours after the armed uprising at the Executive headquarters in the city of La Paz, which the government of President Luis Arce called an “attempted coup.”

The Minister of Government (Interior), Eduardo del Castillo, reported that Aguilar played the role of “ideologist” of the military takeover, together with the dismissed Army commander Juan José Zuñiga.

“In the early hours of June 26, I learned that he was involved in the entire mobilization, so in the early hours of June 27 he was dismissed from his position as office advisor,” Novillo said Tuesday at a press conference following a cabinet meeting.

A military source told EFE that this position is within the defence minister’s circle of trust.

Aguilar was arrested over the weekend along with 20 other people, including civilians and military personnel, and was placed under house arrest on Tuesday.

“The judge has correctly assessed the absence of procedural risks, since the Public Prosecutor’s Office only accredited two risks and was not very severe, I assume that is because it is a civilian,” said Aguilar’s lawyer, Miguel Ramírez.

A Bolivian police intelligence report states that Aguilar “formulated a military uprising strategy that involved the coordinated mobilization of the Armed Forces toward Plaza Murillo.”

The Bolivian government also reported that Aníbal Aguilar is the brother of Roberto Aguilar, the former Minister of Education of the government of former president and leader of the ruling party Evo Morales (2006-2019).

A group of soldiers, led by the dismissed military chief Zuñiga, carried out an assault on the headquarters of the Executive in La Paz on June 26 for a few hours.

Shortly after, the former military chief had a face to face with President Arce, minutes later he left, withdrew the troops and went to the Army General Staff where he was captured.

Bolivian police have six arrest warrants against alleged perpetrators of the uprising

Bolivian police have six more arrest warrants pending against the alleged “material” and “intellectual” authors of last week’s military uprising against the government of Luis Arce, reported commander Álvaro Álvarez on Wednesday.

The police chief mentioned that among the six arrest warrants is that of retired military officer Tomás PL, who declared himself in hiding through local media and denied having been part of the planning of the armed action.

Álvarez said that “all the videos and cameras” have been collected from Plaza Murillo, the site of the country’s executive and legislative headquarters, and where the military deployment led by the dismissed head of the Army Juan José Zuñiga took place.

Among the latest detainees is the former head of the ‘Elite Unit F10’, who “was in charge of the snipers” who came to La Paz “to be part of this coup,” said the police chief.

“Our investigative process continues, we are doing our best to find the perpetrators and masterminds of this crime,” said the police commander.

So far, there are 21 alleged suspects, including military and civilians, in the military takeover of the political center of Bolivia, in addition to the commander of the sniper unit who is due to appear before a judge on Wednesday.

The Attorney General’s Office also recently formed a commission of inquiry to investigate the links of at least 30 people related to the events of last Wednesday.

Last Wednesday, a group of armed soldiers with tanks led by the dismissed Army chief Juan José Zuñiga rose up against the headquarters of Luis Arce’s government. Hours later, the soldier retreated and was imprisoned along with other uniformed officers.