Aguilera declares before La Paz court: "There was no coup due to citizen reaction"
Former Vice Minister Johnny Aguilera testified in the trial over the military takeover of 26 June 2024 and denied that a coup d'état had occurred.
Former Vice Minister Aguilera leaves La Paz court after declaring in military takeover case
Former Vice Minister for Citizen Security Johnny Aguilera left the Departmental Court of Justice in La Paz on Tuesday after giving a statement in the trial over the military takeover of plaza Murillo, according to reporting by unitel.bo.
Aguilera maintained before the judge that on 24 June 2024 no coup d'état took place, because security forces and citizens frustrated the attempt. "He says that I have said that there was no coup d'état and it is evident because the security forces positioned themselves in the vicinity of the Government Palace preventing the entry of the contingent that was being led by General Zúñiga," he stated upon leaving the court.
The former vice minister clarified that he appeared at the request of General Juan José Zúñiga, the main defendant in the case, and that he did so as a witness. Zúñiga had declared on Monday that he ordered the capture of the former authority.
Hours before his statement, reports circulated about an arrest warrant against him. Aguilera dismissed them: "There was no arrest warrant, it is misinformation that was given yesterday given that I was summoned for today," he maintained.
Lawyer Eduardo León, defence counsel for former Army Commander Zúñiga, questioned the coherence of the testimony. According to León, Aguilera incurred contradictions by claiming that "there was no coup d'état, armed uprising or terrorism" without being able to explain why the military personnel involved were detained. "If he maintains these contradictions, it is perjury and this gives grounds for his arrest," León warned.
Aguilera rejected this interpretation and reiterated that Zúñiga's plan was halted by the intervention of loyal uniformed personnel and the population. "The same as there was a reaction from the population," he added.
Meanwhile, the court handling the trial issued arrest warrants against former authorities from Luis Arce's government who did not appear at the hearings scheduled for Tuesday. The information was confirmed by Eduardo León, Zúñiga's lawyer.
Source: Google News BO — La Paz