Irish 'involved' in Bolivia 'assassination attempt'

[the klingon]

The Irish Examiner is reporting that he was skilled in Krav Maga.

I wonder is that significant?

Not really, anyone with an interest can learn in Dublin, obviously you pay, same as karate lessons etc.

I feel so sorry for his friends, it's a shocking way to lose someone, more so when so far away.

Unfortunately, he might have kept some aspects of his life he kept hidden, he certainly was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The police story is such horsesh1t one wonders if any of it is true.
Are those facebook pages legit? Surely a forensic analysis can be done here? I would urge the dept of foreign affairs as a matter of urgency to liase with the US authorities to find activity on these accounts, in order to ascertain details of who done what when?

[toxic avenger]

I still say that he was clearly a young fellow from Tipp with silly notions in bad company. I don't think he had any real understanding of the risk he was running hanging around with these people, I think he was lured by the macho secrecy and all the rest. I saw his bebo page has photos of Face and B.A. Baracus, and a group photo of the A-Team, suggesting he had fantasies of belonging to a band of travelling mercenaries. Perhaps he did, but young people have all sort of notions. That does not mean that he is guilty of what he has been accused of, or that they weren't 'taken out' as part of a political stunt, or that Dwyer wasn't simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's too early to say.

[Catalpa]

It sounds like this unfortunate individual got suckered in over his head rather than being a hardened ex soldier on the job for cash.

[toxic avenger]

http://info-wars.org/?p=1385

The reference to the line from the film 'Heat' again suggests a young man who had notions of being like the Robert De Niro character (with goatee). A silly but yet intelligent young man with a fantasy that led him into trouble.

[Utopian Hermit Monk]

They were long term at the same hotel. I don't see terrorists using facebook as a tool to communicate.

I agree that there is, to date, no clear evidence that they were involved in any terrorist plot to assassinate Morales.

It is, however, clear that the presence in that hotel of three people linked as Facebook 'friends' was no mere coincidence.

I suspect that Flores was under close police surveillance. In his extensive internet activity (several blogs, Facebook, etc.) he made no secret of where he stood politically. He was a self-declared anarchist. He publicly supported autonomy for the Santa Cruz region, thereby placing himself in the anti-Morales camp. The fact that he was a reasonably well known writer, media correspondent and activist would surely have brought him to the attention of the police. They would have been aware of his past activities in the Balkans and his support for Santa Cruz autonomy.

The incident that sparked the fatal police operation seems to have been an explosion at the residence of the Archbishop of Santa Cruz, Cardinal Terrazas. This was just hours before the police assault on the hotel.

It is quite possible that someone in the hotel overheard Mike Dwyer and the others discussing their shared interest in guns, or that they simply appeared suspicious. In the tense atmosphere following the explosion at the Cardinal's house, any suspicions were likely to be reported to the police. If, additionally, the police were already monitoring the movements of Eduardo Rozsa Flores, he might have figured in their list of suspects following the attack on the Cardinal's residence. Of course, the police would have been under pressure to pin the explosion of some individual or group. In such circumstances, armed police can become jittery and trigger-happy (remember Jean Charles de Menezes?).

Initial reports said the three men tried to escape when challenged by the police. If so, this would have made them appear even more suspicious. Once the shooting started, it may have been too late for Mike Dwyer and the others to offer alternative explanations for why they were together in Santa Cruz.

Basic questions remain:
How/why did Mike Dwyer, a seemingly pleasant, uncomplicated young man from Ballinderry, link up with Eduardo Rozsa Flores on Facebook? What was the nature of their relationship?
Did that relationship lead him to travel to Bolivia?
If so, with what purpose?
What kind of 'security work' was he involved in, and why in Bolivia?



I tend to agree with toxic avenger that Mike Dwyer was something of an innocent at large, and got himself tangled up in something he didn't understand. An example of 'social networking' gone very wrong?

[Sam Lord]

Basic questions remain:
How/why did Mike Dwyer, a seemingly pleasant, uncomplicated young man from Ballinderry, link up with Eduardo Rozsa Flores on Facebook? What was the nature of their relationship?
Did that relationship lead him to travel to Bolivia?
If so, with what purpose?
What kind of 'security work' was he involved in, and why in Bolivia?

Yes, indeed. These are the questions that need to be answered.

I wish those who clam to know either him or the nutjob Flores would address them.

[pete2]

Whats the evidence that Dwyer was a patsy or setup?

[the klingon]

Basic questions remain:
How/why did Mike Dwyer, a seemingly pleasant, uncomplicated young man from Ballinderry, link up with Eduardo Rozsa Flores on Facebook? What was the nature of their relationship?
Did that relationship lead him to travel to Bolivia?
If so, with what purpose?
What kind of 'security work' was he involved in, and why in Bolivia?



I tend to agree with toxic avenger that Mike Dwyer was something of an innocent at large, and got himself tangled up in something he didn't understand. An example of 'social networking' gone very wrong?

Hmm. I'd agree with you, but if nothing else Irish will travel the world, young guys like to get out while they can, and perhaps he is a victim of the downturn as much as social networking?

It is very important to find out where he got this job from - did he in fact get from a facebook / bebo contact (groomed?) or from an actual company with an address? What was the official status of his residency in Bolivia? Did he need some additional permits to own the car, and if so why was he in a hotel and not at his registered address? What is the connection to the telecom stand at the conference where the arms stash was allegedly uncovered?

Again Mike's email will probably shed some light on some of this, and again we may rely on US cooperation to gain access and recover pertinent information.

[cactusflower]

The Irish Examiner is reporting that he was skilled in Krav Maga.

I wonder is that significant?

I noticed that too. There were people here advertising themselves as former IDF teaching Krav Maga here in the last few years. It's possible way he may have had contact with someone. Or it may have been a bit of blagging.

Flores from his blog looks to have been a more than a bit of a looper, but has a long track record. He seems to have been hanging out with a former US soldier junkie who had served in afghanistan.Sic Semper Tyrannus

Flores was Bolivian and a convert to islam. That whole trail of militant islam from Afghanistan to the Balkans had a lot of US involvement right from the start.

[toxic avenger]

I noticed that too. There were people here advertising themselves as former IDF teaching Krav Maga here in the last few years. It's possible way he may have had contact with someone. Or it may have been a bit of blagging.

Flores from his blog looks to have been a more than a bit of a looper, but has a long track record. He seems to have been hanging out with a former US soldier junkie who had served in afghanistan.Sic Semper Tyrannus

Flores was Bolivian and a convert to islam. That whole trail of militant islam from Afghanistan to the Balkans had a lot of US involvement right from the start.

Was he a Muslim when he went to Croatia? The Croatians were almost as bad as the Serbs in their treatment of Bosnian Muslims in the early period of the Bosnian conflict, before they allied against the Serbs. It would seem an odd choice for an Islamist...