Bolivia: Mercenaries Were Allegedly Involved with Assassination Plot Against President Evo Morales
April 17th, 2009Via: BBC:
Bolivia’s President Evo Morales says three foreigners have been killed after he ordered police to thwart a planned assassination attempt against him.
Security forces killed three alleged international mercenaries in the city of Santa Cruz, Mr Morales said.
He said intelligence reports had warned of an assassination plot by a group comprising foreign attackers.
Arriving in Venezuela for a summit, Mr Morales said two people had been arrested over the alleged plot.
The three were killed in a half-hour shootout at the hotel in Santa Cruz, some 900km (620 miles) east of the capital La Paz, Mr Morales said.
“Yesterday, I gave instruction to the vice president to move to arrest these mercenaries and this morning I was informed of a half-hour shootout at a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz,” said Mr Morales.
“Three foreigners are dead and two arrested.”
He added that the alleged plot had been to kill him, Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and a cabinet minister.
