Irishman killed in Bolivia was linked to bomb attack, inquest told.

[Judi Lynn]

Irishman killed in Bolivia was linked to bomb attack, inquest told.
Peter Walker guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday 14 October 2009 02.00 BST

An Irish man shot dead in Bolivia after allegedly becoming mixed up in a rightwing plot to assassinate the country's president was killed by a single bullet wound to the heart, possibly inflicted as he sat up in bed, an inquest heard yesterday.

Security worker Michael Dwyer, 24, was killed when police raided a hotel in the capital, Santa Cruz, on 16 April. A local autopsy said he had been killed by six bullets. But Paul Malone, solicitor for the Dwyer family, told Dublin County coroner's court that the Irish state pathologist had found just one bullet wound, which was apparently fired from above.

Dwyer was killed in the raid together with Eduardo Rozsa Flores, a Bolivian of Hungarian descent who held Croatian citizenship, and Arpad Magyarosi, a Romanian with Hungarian citizenship. The other two had suspected links to a far-right group blamed for attacks on indigenous Bolivians, and authorities said they had plotted to kill Evo Morales, Bolivia's president, who is from an indigenous background.

The Irish government has requested an international investigation into Dwyer's death following reports that the three men were asleep when the shooting started. Bolivian police say they died during a 30-minute gun battle. At the inquest, Malone also questioned why authorities waited three weeks to reveal that two guns were found in Dwyer's room, and why reporters and members of the public were allowed into the room after the deaths.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/14/ireland-bolivia

[Judi Lynn]

1. Bolivians were investigating man before his death

Bolivians were investigating man before his death
By Georgina O’Halloran

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

THE young Tipperary man shot dead by police in a Bolivian hotel was being investigated by the authorities there prior to his death, the country’s ambassador has told an inquest into his death.

Michael Dwyer, aged 24, of Ballinderry, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, was shot dead along with Eduardo Rozsa Flores and a third man, Arpad Magyaroson, on the fourth floor of Hotel Las Americas in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz on April 16, 2008.

Bolivian ambassador to Britain and Ireland, Beatriz Souviron, told the inquest, which was heard at Dublin County Coroner’s Court yesterday, that Mr Dwyer was being investigated by the Bolivian government prior to his death as part of a group which was trying to "cause some problems in Bolivia. The life of my president was threatened and other leaders", she said.

Ms Souviron revealed that their airline tickets had been paid for by Bolivian businessman Alejandro Melgar, whom she said has been arrested for being part of a terrorist movement to separate Santa Cruz from the country.

Ms Souviron, who emphasised that the investigation in Bolivia was ongoing, said that police came to arrest the group on April 16 and that they resisted arrest.

"There was a crossfire between the room and the corridor when the police came to arrest them."

The ambassador said guns were found in the rooms of the three men, including one nine millimetre gun and one 22mm gun in the room of Michael Dwyer.

She said residue of gunshot was also found on Mr Dwyer’s hands.

More:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bolivians-were-investigating-man-before-his-death-103304.html#ixzz0TrseosUI

http://www.wsm.ie.nyud.net:8090/attachments/jul2009/michaeldwyer4guns_1.jpg http://www.herald.ie.nyud.net:8090/multimedia/archive/00316/0105_dwyer1_reuters_316079t.jpg http://www.timesonline.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/multimedia/archive/00524/Michael-Dwyer_524820a.jpg

http://s.wsj.net.nyud.net:8090/public/resources/images/NA-AX873_BOLIVI_G_20090522182616.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_7Se7iswAanA/SeeemFOMWaI/AAAAAAAAG1o/3z_ji2NIaf0/s400/dwyer_bolivia.jpg

Michael Dwyer does Bolivia.

http://cache.daylife.com.nyud.net:8090/imageserve/058C5Wo0uF45X/610x.jpg

Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive 5 months ago
In this undated photo released by Bolivia's state press agency ABI, ethnic Hungarian Elod Toazo poses with a sniper rifle at a hotel in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Toaso survived an April 16, 2009 pre-dawn police raid, along with Mario Tadic of the Balkans, in connection with an alleged plot to kill Bolivia's President Evo Morales at the Hotel Las Americas in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Police killed three men during the raid: Bolivian-born Eduardo Rozsa Flores, Michael Dwyer of Ireland, and Arpad Magyarosi of Romania. Toaso and Tadic were jailed without bail on terrorism charges after a closed hearing.

[EFerrari]

2. Security worker? What about mercenary or assassin?

Give the guy some credit for his professionalism. :sarcasm:

[rabs]

3. Whatever happened to ...

Hugo Acha, director of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation?

Last I heard several months ago was that he had skeedaddled to the U.S. with his family.

Just another terrorist enjoying the good life in the United States.

[EFerrari]

4. That's a god question. He's probably learning to paint

so he can exhibit along side all the other terrorists! "The Three Felons"!

I'm going to go look up a recipe. I'll go see if Acha can be found, too.

[EFerrari]

5. Here he is being thrown under the bus by some of his HRF colleagues:

Fundadores de HRF renuncian y critican accionar de Hugo Achá (El Deber 04/06/09) PDF Imprimir E-mail
Junio 2009

Investigación. Emilio Martínez, Fernando Cuéllar, Alejandra Barbery y Centa Rek dejaron la fundación. Solamente quedaron tres integrantes

Christian Peña y Lillo H.

Cuatro de los siete fundadores de Human Rights Foundation Bolivia (HRF) renunciaron el martes molestos por la falta de transparencia y comunicación del presidente de esta organización no gubernamental, Hugo Achá, que se encuentra en Estados Unidos desde que fue mencionado por el Ministerio Público como uno de los supuestos integrantes del presunto grupo terrorista desarticulado en Santa Cruz, el 16 de abril.

La decisión fue anunciada por Alejandra Barbery, Fernando Cuéllar, Emilio Martínez y Centa Rek. Los que todavía se mantienen activos son Wilson Díaz, Javier El Hage (que tiene una beca en Estados Unidos hace más de un año) y Achá.

Barbery, abogada de profesión, dijo ayer que la ‘gota que rebalsó el vaso’ fue la convocatoria pública hecha por Díaz, en la que solicitó una reunión de la HRF. “Él (Díaz) no tiene la autoridad para llamar a ninguna reunión, porque nunca fue parte de la directiva”, precisó Barbery. Según ella, a esto se sumó la falta de comunicación de Achá con el resto de los integrantes.

Por su parte Díaz, dijo que Barbery no es la única encargada de la HRF, aseguró que la convocatoria que hizo fue para tratar temas relacionados con los ataques a los medios de comunicación.

http://www.cedib.org/index.php?/noticias/fundadores-de-hrf-renuncian-y-critican-accionar-de-hugo-acha-el-deber-04/06/09.html

So, it sounds as though these four individuals up and quit HRF in June over a lack of transparency and communication on his part. I think that means, whatever he did, we know nothing. lol

[Judi Lynn]

6. Thanks for this news! Hope they discover it's not going to be that easy. Wow. n/t