(Bloomberg) -- As rebel Bolivian soldiers occupied La Paz’s central plaza and drove an armored vehicle into the government palace on Wednesday, panicked citizens rushed to withdraw cash, fill their cars with gas and stock up on food.

The attempted putsch swiftly fell apart and ended with the arrest of coup leaders, as President Luis Arce reasserted control of the country by naming new military leadership. More than 15 people who allegedly participated in the plot were detained, the government said Thursday. 

Although the crisis was over within three hours, Bolivians withdrew close to 200 million bolivianos ($29 million), said Ivette Espinosa, head of bank regulator ASFI, creating long lines. 

Speaking to reporters in La Paz on Thursday, Espinosa denied that ATMs had entirely run out of money but said that the volume of withdrawals had been higher than usual. She said the situation had since normalized. 

“The events have created a climate of instability and uncertainty,” said Pablo Camacho, head of Bolivia’s National Chamber of Industry. “We were taken by surprise, and people immediately went to supermarkets and groceries to ATM machines creating an increase in demand.”

Bolivia is suffering an economic crisis after natural gas exports dived and the central bank almost entirely ran out of foreign currency with which to defend its peg to the US dollar. The dollar shortage is creating a scarcity of fuel and other imported goods, and many Bolivians have taken to buying greenbacks on the black market to protect their savings. 

It’s too early to estimate the economic impact of Wednesday’s attack, but it could hurt the nation’s image, Camacho said.  

“There’s no doubt that the events scare off potential investors,” he said. 

(Adds detail on arrests in second paragraph.)

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