Fast reaction and a team effort made for excellent coverage of a failed coup in Bolivia 

By Paola Flores, Juan Karita, Megan Janetsky, Carlos Valdez, Carlos Guerrero, Víctor Caivano and Isabel DeBre

From an early tip by a photographer to an interview with the president himself, our team in Bolivia, with the support of writers in Mexico and Argentina, were a shining example of teamwork in covering a failed coup in Bolivia.

Photographer Juan Karita was in downtown La Paz on June 26 when he saw something unusual: troops being deployed on the streets. He immediately reported the movements to Southern Cone News Director Natacha Pisarenko, who alerted the Latin American leadership, and within minutes, everyone mobilized to understand what was happening. A tweet from President Luis Arce confirming some “irregular” troop movements was our signal to start filing alerts and photos. Comms were spotty in the main plaza, but we were able to be live for some minutes.

Within a few hours, the troops retreated, and the general accused of leading the coup was arrested. The government called it a “failed coup d’etat,” but opponents — including the general — called it a staged attempt meant to earn the unpopular leader political points before elections, something the president has vehemently denied.

That day and the following ones, Bolivia correspondents Paola Flores and Carlos Valdez worked their sources to get access to important officials, while Karita and video freelancer Carlos Guerrero captured as much as they could. Mexico and Central America correspondent Megan Janetsky and Southern Cone senior producer Víctor Caivano flew in to help with the coverage, while Southern Cone senior correspondent Isabel DeBre anchored the main story and helped with the sidebars.

The team produced contextual stories to explain the political and economic tensions that led to the apparent coup, and they were able to secure a 16-minute interview with Arce.

The main story was one of the most used and seen for customers and on APNews.com. Additionally, the explanatory stories and a quick profile of President Arce were also well-used, showing that our audience looked for context.

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