ASUNCION: President Fernando Lugo on Friday sacked the commander of Paraguay's armed forces, two days after firing a trio of top military commanders amid rumors of a potential coup, government sources said Friday. Lugo, a former Catholic bishop who assumed office in August 2008, sacked Rear Admiral Ciber Benitez. He will be replaced by General Juan Oscar Velazquez, a former army commander and a Lugo confidant, an official statement said. Lugo fired his army, navy and air force commanders on Wednesday, a day after claiming there were "pockets of coup-plotters" in the armed forces. Opponents accuse Lugo of styling himself after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in his focus on helping the poor in this land-locked South American country.