Irish 'involved' in Bolivia 'assassination attempt'

[marmurr1916]

Are there any more photos of Toaso and Dwyer together or Toaso with weapons? To me, the person sitting down in the right of the photograph looks to be wearing the same type of shirt as Dwyer.
It would be interesting to be able to see Dwyer in the same room as the weapons.

That's very well spotted.

Whoever the person in the other photo is, it looks like they're bent over a laptop (also note the way the lead from the socket trails across the floor and heads towards the table the person is sitting at).

Could have been Dwyer playing video games.

[Ah Well]

Are there any more photos of Toaso and Dwyer together or Toaso with weapons? To me, the person sitting down in the right of the photograph looks to be wearing the same type of shirt as Dwyer.
It would be interesting to be able to see Dwyer in the same room as the weapons.

Absolutely 10/10 .... in that the polo shirt is CERTAINLY the same whatever bout the rest ... very well spotted/copped Sir

[toxic avenger]

At this point there is no doubt in my mind that Flores and the others were formenting civil war and looking to create a secessionist state in Santa Cruz to hoard all Bolivia's wealth, where the lives of ethnic Indians and mestizzo people would be the definition of a living hell. Those people (and I'm still not saying shoot-to-kill is right) earned their deaths, you can not play at fascist sh1t like that and not expect deadly consequences. As to Dwyer's role, I'm still unsure, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that if he had a brain-cell operating in his head then he must have learned enough about where he was (and he was there for months) to have an idea about what the Santa Cruz mercenaries were up to. Considering what groups like Nacion Camba were capable of, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to have sympathy with him. The people he was mixing with were pure scum, the lowest of the low.

I have it from my journalist friend in Caracas that there are Venezuelan 'advisers' in Bolivia already, and that Chavez is fully ready, at the invitation of Morales, to go in and take on these people if they do declare secession. If the Venezuelans do go in, the European Nazis are f*cked, they'll be wiped out. If such an eventuality becomes likely, Obama will be advised to let these Santa Cruz people know, through the undoubted State Department and CIA contacts that they have, that the Americans will be staying well clear. But the Venezuelans, as I have it (from a pro-Chavez journalist), are deadly serious.

[cactusflower]

lostexpectation posted a link to this:

Bolivia - Two film makers kidnapped and mistreated in Santa Cruz department
MONTREAL, April 18 /CNW Telbec/ - Reporters Without Borders condemns the
mistreatment that two documentary filmmakers - Tanimbu Estremadoiro and her
Argentine colleague Fernando Cola - received from residents of Cuevo, in the
eastern department of Santa Cruz, on 13 April.
They were kidnapped and subjected to physical violence during a clash
between government representatives and local landowners in a region where much
of the population supports calls for autonomy and is fiercely opposed to the
government in La Paz.
"All those trying to settle scores by attacking the press should have
learned from the death of Carlos Quispe on 29 March as a result of an attack
on Radio Municipal Pucarani (see 8 April release)," Reporters Without Borders
said. "The way Fernando Cola and Tanimbu Estremadoiro were treated shows that
the current political and social conflicts continue to expose journalists to
serious risks."
The press freedom organisation added: "We hope that justice will be
quickly rendered in this case and that the political class, especially those
in the regions that are pressing for autonomy, will undertake to ensure
respect for press freedom."
Cola and Estremadoiro, who are members of the Centre for Legal Studies
and Social Investigation (CEJIS) and the International Work Group for
Indigenous Affairs, a Danish NGO, are making a documentary about land
conflicts in Bolivia. On 13 April, they were accompanying a government
delegation that is in charge of distributing land to Guarani indigenous
peasants.
A group of local landowners opposed to agrarian reform blocked the
delegation's access to Cuevo, a locality near the city of Santa Cruz. When the
confrontation turned violent, Cola was captured. He was kicked repeatedly,
stones were thrown at him and his camera was smashed. He finally escaped from
his assailants and found refuge in the home of a local resident where soldiers
rescued him the next day.
Estremadoiro, who is of Guarani origin, was meanwhile seized, threatened
with death, and forcibly led to the central square in Cuevo. She told Radio
Erbol that her captors tied her to a post in the square in the rain for about
an hour, and thereafter held her captive for the rest of the night. Soldiers
rescued her the next morning and took her to a nearby barracks. She was
reunited with Cola on 15 April in the neighbouring village of Camiri.

For further information: Katherine Borlongan, Secretary general,
Reporters Without Borders Canada, (514) 521-4111, rsfcanada@rsf.org

This is what they were in Bolivia for, and worse.

Any links to the suggestion of Venezuelan advisers toxic avenger ? Do you not think that the Bolivian army is up to the job/loyal?

Morales told the ponchos rojos to stand down ? One of the gang was ex Bolivian army. The defensive capacities certainly need to be strengthened.

[toxic avenger]

lostexpectation posted a link to this:



This is what they were in Bolivia for, and worse.

Any links to the suggestion of Venezuelan advisers toxic avenger ? Do you not think that the Bolivian army is up to the job/loyal?

Morales told the ponchos rojos to stand down ? One of the gang was ex Bolivian army. The defensive capacities certainly need to be strengthened.

To be honest cactus, I don't know how reliable the Bolivian army are, but I do know that the wealthy European private armies are much better armed in many respects. Throw the Venezuelan army into the mix, however, and they're screwed. They are a formidable, disciplined, and ideologically-motivated group, the Columbians knew not to risk taking them on when they were sabre-rattling with Ecuador. I don't have a link, unfortunately, I have it from my brother's Venezuelan girlfriend, Coromoto, who is a journalist with a pro-Chavez newspaper in Caracas. She says that it is fairly well known, though not official, that there are Venezuelan 'advisers' in Bolivia preparing contingency plans, and that Chavez has promised Morales full military backing were such a secession to become likely. She also believes that there is but no doubt that these people weren't merely being 'defensive', that they really do want Morales dead and are quite prepared to kill him.

[islands]

The people he was mixing with were pure scum, the lowest of the low.

Agreed. And I find it really, really disturbing that he seems to have been introduced to this crowd on security in Mayo.

What sort of goons are working there? That's a disturbing story right here in Ireland

[Utopian Hermit Monk]

I think we have to avoid jumping ahead of the facts, or at least as many of the facts as it is possible to know at a particular time.

While some of us, including myself, may sometimes appear to be overly sympathetic to Mike Dwyer, if you read back through the thread (an almost impossible task, at this stage!), you will find that we have also posted material that does not cast him the best light (e.g. regarding links between I-RMS employees at Corrib and the neo-Nazi Szekely Legion). My own predisposition is to think the best, while being open to learning the worst.

Here, as at blogs and message boards in South America and elsewhere, this episode is being manipulated and spun by both the political right and left. Obviously, some Bolivian newspapers and tv/radio stations have links to the Santa Cruz oligarchy, and their coverage should be treated with great caution. But other Bolivian media have links with the Government, and their coverage is just as partisan.

Remember, we are dealing with a deeply divided society in Bolivia. On the one hand, there is the far-right, including powerful business and political interests in Santa Cruz. Historically, and, notwithstanding Obama's recent reassurances, presently, the enormous financial and political interests of the USA are part of the picture also.

On the other side is the Government of Evo Morales, who has now officially declared that he is a "Marxist-Leninist" (repeated in an interview published this morning in Argentina), closely allied with the Castro brothers, Hugo Chavez and goodness know what other international interests (China?).

In a polarized situation like this, where even geopolitical interests are at stake, news coverage becomes a propaganda weapon, for both sides. Ideally, it would help to know which side a particular media source or internet blog happens to support.

I notice, for example, that several of the recent recruits to p.ie, who are posting almost exclusively on this thread, appear to be South American. At least one, Ih8politics (23 posts), who posted the photo of Toaso in the Buganvilla Hotel, along with a helpful comparative photo of a room from the same hotel, appears to be the author of the blog 'Okrim Opina', and has another blog entitled 'Socialist Bloggers of Venezuela'. I say this because 'Okrim Opina' posted the very same photo of Toaso and the very same link to the very same photo of the Buganvilla Hotel (from the Trip Advisor site) at the Bolivian blog, 'Aullidos de la calle'.

Probably, other recent arrivals here (both from Ireland and other interested countries) are pushing an opposite interpretation of the available 'evidence'. Fair enough. That is, in part, what internet message boards are all about, and this p.ie thread is now appearing near the top of Google searches on this incident. But when it comes to drawing conclusions from what is being posted (by them, by me, by any of us), extreme caution is advisable.

I hope we can get to the truth, whatever it may happen to be. If it turns out that there is clear proof that Mike Dwyer was up to his neck in an armed conspiracy to assassinate Evo Morales and support secession by Santa Cruz, so be it.

But if it turns out that the truth is much more banal - e.g., that his job at Corrib finished up last October and, instead of joining an Irish dole queue he opted for a job with a shady character about whom he understood very little, apart from the fact that money, travel, sunshine, luxury hotels and beautiful girls were probably more enjoyable than standing in line for his dole money in miserable Irish weather, then I hope we are open to learning that, also.

As of now, sifting through what is available to us, I do not feel in any position to decide either way. Hopefully, our own and other police forces, including Interpol, have access to much more hard information (phone records, travel and hotel bookings, bank accounts, etc.) that will eventually clarify what happened. That is the kind of information I would like to get my hands on. But all I have is a modest PC and a broadband link.

[Ih8politics]

I think we have to avoid jumping ahead of the facts, or at least as many of the facts as it is possible to know at a particular time.

While some of us, including myself, may sometimes appear to be overly sympathetic to Mike Dwyer, if you read back through the thread (an almost impossible task, at this stage!), you will find that we have also posted material that does not cast him the best light (e.g. regarding links between I-RMS employees at Corrib and the neo-Nazi Szekely Legion). My own predisposition is to think the best, while being open to learning the worst.

Here, as at blogs and message boards in South America and elsewhere, this episode is being manipulated and spun by both the political right and left. Obviously, some Bolivian newspapers and tv/radio stations have links to the Santa Cruz oligarchy, and their coverage should be treated with great caution. But other Bolivian media have links with the Government, and their coverage is just as partisan.

Remember, we are dealing with a deeply divided society in Bolivia. On the one hand, there is the far-right, including powerful business and political interests in Santa Cruz. Historically, and, notwithstanding Obama's recent reassurances, presently, the enormous financial and political interests of the USA are part of the picture also.

On the other side is the Government of Evo Morales, who has now officially declared that he is a "Marxist-Leninist" (repeated in an interview published this morning in Argentina), closely allied with the Castro brothers, Hugo Chavez and goodness know what other international interests (China?).

In a polarized situation like this, where even geopolitical interests are at stake, news coverage becomes a propaganda weapon, for both sides. Ideally, it would help to know which side a particular media source or internet blog happens to support.

I notice, for example, that several of the recent recruits to p.ie, who are posting almost exclusively on this thread, appear to be South American. At least one, Ih8politics (23 posts), who posted the photo of Toaso in the Buganvilla Hotel, along with a helpful comparative photo of a room from the same hotel, appears to be the author of the blog 'Okrim Opina', and has another blog entitled 'Socialist Bloggers of Venezuela'. I say this because 'Okrim Opina' posted the very same photo of Toaso and the very same link to the very same photo of the Buganvilla Hotel (from the Trip Advisor site) at the Bolivian blog, 'Aullidos de la calle'.

Probably, other recent arrivals here (both from Ireland and other interested countries) are pushing an opposite interpretation of the available 'evidence'. Fair enough. That is, in part, what internet message boards are all about, and this p.ie thread is now appearing near the top of Google searches on this incident. But when it comes to drawing conclusions from what is being posted (by them, by me, by any of us), extreme caution is advisable.

I hope we can get to the truth, whatever it may happen to be. If it turns out that there is clear proof that Mike Dwyer was up to his neck in an armed conspiracy to assassinate Evo Morales and support secession by Santa Cruz, so be it.

As of now, sifting through what is available to us, I do not feel in any position to decide either way. Hopefully, our own and other police forces, including Interpol, have access to much more hard information (phone records, travel and hotel bookings, bank accounts, etc.) that will eventually clarify what happened. That is the kind of information I would like to get my hands on. But all I have is a modest PC and a broadband link.

I think we have to avoid jumping ahead of the facts, or at least as many of the facts as it is possible to know at a particular time.

I notice, for example, that several of the recent recruits to p.ie, who are posting almost exclusively on this thread, appear to be South American. At least one, Ih8politics (23 posts), who posted the photo of Toaso in the Buganvilla Hotel, along with a helpful comparative photo of a room from the same hotel, appears to be the author of the blog 'Okrim Opina', and has another blog entitled 'Socialist Bloggers of Venezuela'. I say this because 'Okrim Opina' posted the very same photo of Toaso and the very same link to the very same photo of the Buganvilla Hotel (from the Trip Advisor site) at the Bolivian blog, 'Aullidos de la calle'.

Probably, other recent arrivals here (both from Ireland and other interested countries) are pushing an opposite interpretation of the available 'evidence'. Fair enough. That is, in part, what internet message boards are all about, and this p.ie thread is now appearing near the top of Google searches on this incident. But when it comes to drawing conclusions from what is being posted (by them, by me, by any of us), extreme caution is advisable.

I hope we can get to the truth, whatever it may happen to be. If it turns out that there is clear proof that Mike Dwyer was up to his neck in an armed conspiracy to assassinate Evo Morales and support secession by Santa Cruz, so be it.

But if it turns out that the truth is much more banal - e.g., that his job at Corrib finished up last October and, instead of joining an Irish dole queue he opted for a job with a shady character about whom he understood very little, apart from the fact that money, travel, sunshine, luxury hotels and beautiful girls were probably more enjoyable than standing in line for his dole money in miserable Irish weather, then I hope we are open to learning that, also.

As of now, sifting through what is available to us, I do not feel in any position to decide either way. Hopefully, our own and other police forces, including Interpol, have access to much more hard information (phone records, travel and hotel bookings, bank accounts, etc.) that will eventually clarify what happened. That is the kind of information I would like to get my hands on. But all I have is a modest PC and a broadband link.

I have a fan I will take full credit for finding the comparative hotel photo (that was all me), but I can't take credit for the main photo, that was released to the media today. I've been accused of many things but never what seems to be a Venezuelan blogger from Caracas. You can check my IP address to see where I'm at, not that it really matters. As you can check UHM, on a previous post I've stated how politicized the media has become down there and have said that state TV is purely Morales' domain. I've spent some time in the wonderful city of Santa Cruz thanks to my brothers fiancee and have in the past few years learned more about what's going on down there then I would have ever imagined possible. Okrim if you're reading this, you're welcome for the hotel photo

Regarding getting to the truth. I don't think that such a thing is possible anymore. Perhaps about Michales involvement but not about what went down in that room where he lost his life. At least not the full truth. We'll more than likely find out more regarding Flores' plan and his intentions and maybe even who financed him and got this whole thing in motion, but I doubt we'll ever find out exactly what happened in those moments when Michael lost his life. The only three people in that room are now dead and something tells me the delta police squad wont be talking anytime soon. Maybe the witness the government will present on Thursday can shed light on how much Michael was really involved in and how much he knew. But like I said, the truth regarding what happened in that room will probably never be fully known, we can only really speculate with the facts we currently have.

[Mr Crowley]

While some of us, including myself, may sometimes appear to be overly sympathetic to Mike Dwyer,

Some have been engaged in efforts to coverup Dwyer's activities, including the Irish media, and some have been downright pathetic in their efforts to beatify Dwyer as some type of innocent martyr.

As more evidence comes to light I am very reassured of my initial reaction and total absence of pity at the fate that befell this Irish Fascist on foreign soil; particularly when his Irish activities have been exposed.

I would like to return to my earlier theme concerning those who indoctrinated, recruited and expolited Dwyer. The 26C administration would be better off looking into stopping those scum from leading more Irish youth astray than making asses of themselves in South America.

[cactusflower]

This article is written by a Bolivian lawyer. It analyses the implications of illegal draft legislation for autonomy of Santa Cruz.


Translated version of http://letacle.canalblog.com/archives/2008/04/23/8923848.html

Here is one of several paragraphs that are enlightening in terms of the relationship between corporate interests (Transrede SA btw is an Enron/Shell Company) and the push for breaking up Bolivia/Santa Cruz secession.


Quote:
Chapter I, Title 2, relates the structure of Basic Skills and Application of the Law of Autonomy. There is included in the first place, the exclusive powers of the County Government to exercise the legislative, regulatory and executive function. Thus, the Bolivian State is expected to delegate almost all the powers set by the current Political Constitution of the State, including, it is the following: a) levels and modalities of education in all areas, b ) land, c) forest land and timber, d) alternative sources and biofuels.

This power of exclusive Départemental Government deserves special attention. The imperialist countries, multinationals ADM, Cargill, Bunge, Dreyfus, Monsanto, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the ZICOSUR, among others, argue amplifier capitalist accumulation at the expense of the environment, food and life, through biofuels.

In this regard, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Santa Cruz (ÇáÍÑÇÓ) and the Prefecture of Santa Cruz encouraged for some time and national legislation on the department in this matter. In addition, the Prefecture of Santa Cruz in 2007 had submitted its "invest" 14 million bolivianos [Bolivian currency] in three plants to test and produce biofuels such as biodiesel.

So out in the catalog of shared competence between the State and the Bolivian Government Autonomous County of Santa Cruz, natural resources, not natural according to the official would not be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department. The Bolivian Chamber of Hydrocarbons - part of the structure of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz - and TRANSREDES (Enron-shell), among other multinational oil companies have participated actively in municipal councils that requested the departmental autonomy for the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.


Marinkowitz, major share holder in Transrede SA (former Member of the Board) is the founder of the Comite por Santa Cruz. This committee, according to Rosza Flores, invited him to Bolivia to set up a militia to fight for autonomy. Until otherwise clarified, the possibility that by an ironic coincidence, Michael Dwyer was still working for Shell when he died, can't be ruled out.