LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Luis Arce on Thursday denied any involvement or knowledge of a failed coup attempt led by General Juan Jose Zuniga a day earlier, after Zuniga told reporters that Arce had asked him to in order to boost his popularity.

Zuniga, now detained, "acted on his own accord," Arce told a press conference. The president also maintained that everything "had returned to normal" in an attempt to reassure the public.

(Reporting by Lucinda Elliot; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle, Editing by Sarah Morland)