Army officers in Guinea-Bissau announced on state television that they had overthrown President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, suspended the presidential election process, closed the country’s borders, and imposed a curfew.

The officers said they had formed a “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” to govern the nation indefinitely.

Embalo later confirmed to France 24 that he had been deposed, though the military did not clarify whether he had been detained, and his whereabouts remained unknown.

The officers justified the coup by alleging a plot involving local politicians and drug traffickers to destabilize the country and manipulate election results, CNN has reported.

The situation added to longstanding instability in Guinea-Bissau, a nation already known for political turmoil and its role as a major transit point for cocaine heading to Europe.