General Williams Kaliman Romero (born 1963 [1] ) is the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. [2] [3] [4] On 10 November 2019, he called for the resignation of President Evo Morales after a disputed election, amid ongoing protests. [5] [6] Morales was seeking a 4th term. [7]
Kaliman was born in Chuquisaca Department. [8] Kaliman attended the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), the military training school in Fort Benning, Georgia known in the past as the School of the Americas (SOA). [9]
He was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Bolivia in December 2018, [10] declaring himself an anti-colonialist and a soldier for the process of change. [11] Interim president Jeanine Áñez replaced him with General Carlos Orellana soon after Morales resigned and sought refuge in Mexico. [12] He was subsequently placed under house arrest at his home in La Paz on 23 December 2019. Over a year later on 11 March 2021, the Prosecutor's Office under the new government of Luis Arce issued an arrest warrant against him under accusations of a coup d'état against Morales. [13]
