He led military units to gather in the main square of La Paz, home to the presidential palace and Congress. An armored vehicle slammed a palace door to allow soldiers to rush into the building. But it was a failed attempt.
Amidst Bolivia's bid to join the BRICS group, Arce, supported by international allies, addressed and defused the situation, reaffirming his commitment to democracy and swearing in new military commanders. The now dismissed military chief was ordered to six months of "preventive detention" for his role in leading the failed coup against the government.

Following Wednesday's unsuccessful coup, observers have raised suspicion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was part of the master plan. Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, speculated that the coup attempt was secretly backed by the CIA, either because of Bolivia's vast supplies of lithium, in retaliation for its closeness to Russia or its hostility to Israel. One X user said: "This is the second CIA-backed coup plot against the Bolivian state in under five years. Bolivia has 21 million tons of lithium reserves, the largest on the planet. Bolivia also cut off all relations with Israel in condemnation of the genocide in Gaza. Coincidence? I think not." A comment that seemed to refer to the U.S. from Puerto Rican communist "Combate" said: "They own Argentina. They own Chile. They're going after Bolivia."

A different post highlighted Arce's recent trip to St. Petersburg and talks between Bolivia and Russia on nuclear research. "Let's not pretend we don't know who is responsible for today's coup, this is the work of the U.S. CIA," the post said.

Meanwhile, Great Game India reported that Zuniga was seeking to prevent former President Evo Morales from running for president again. He claimed that the former chief would harm the country. However, a Bolivian court has already declared Morales unable to run again.

Just like X users, analysts also believe that the CIA is involved in the failed resistance. Suspicion of the U.S. in Bolivia, stemming from the CIA's historical support for Latin American military regimes and the State Department's involvement in several coups under Henry Kissinger, has left a lasting legacy on the political life of the South American country, which has seen over 190 coup attempts in its history.