A US citizen accused of killing two people and wounding at least seven by setting off bombs in two Bolivian hotels had been seeking a new home after renouncing his US citizenship and allegedly had tried to bomb an ATM in Argentina.
Previously known as Triston Jay Amero, he also goes by John Scheda and Lestat Claudius de Orleans y Montevideo -- Lestat being the name of a vampire in the popular Anne Rice novels.
He's traveled with altered documents and checked into hotels claiming to be a Saudi Arabian lawyer and a reverend. He was apparently running from the law in California.
The 24-year-old was detained on Wednesday alongside his girlfriend Alda Ribeiro, 40, of Uruguay. Police paraded the handcuffed pair in front of the press; Lestat, slightly overweight, with a ponytail and glasses, showed no emotion before onlookers.
Bolivian authorities and neighbors said the couple had been giving away nude calendars promoting a Bolivian business selling and exporting "explosives, fireworks and liquor."
On the calendar and to various authorities he used the name Lestat, but was not clear whether he had legally changed his name to Lestat.
Authorities have been left scratching their heads as to the pair's motive, saying it may have been "religious."
"The possible motives behind these attacks are incomprehensible. There don't seem to be any concrete objectives other than causing deaths," Deputy Interior Minister Rafael Puente told Radio Fides.
The bombings occurred in two low budget hotels frequented by foreign tourists about a kilometer apart in La Paz's historic city center. Fatalities were caused by the first explosion that hit the Alojamiento Linares hotel at about 9:30pm on Tuesday.
Police identified the dead as a Bolivian man and woman. A US citizen, identified as Jessica Wilson, was treated and released from a hospital and the other injured people are Bolivian, police said.
Police said they managed to evacuate the second hotel before the blast hit at about 2am and said the couple was planning to bomb the Chilean consulate here tomorrow.
Police initially said the blasts were "typical of terrorist crime," and President Evo Morales lost no time in denouncing them as an attack on Bolivia's democracy.
"This American was putting bombs in hotels," Morales said. "The US government fights terrorism, and they send us terrorists."
La Paz district attorney Jorge Gutierrez said the couple entered Bolivia overland from Argentina and perpetrated attacks in other Bolivian cities that left no victims. They also tried to bomb an ATM machine in northern Argentina, police said.
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
‘NO INTEGRITY’: The chief judge expressed concern over how the sentence would be perceived given that military detention is believed to be easier than civilian prison A military court yesterday sentenced a New Zealand soldier to two years’ detention for attempting to spy for a foreign power. The soldier, whose name has been suppressed, admitted to attempted espionage, accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and knowingly possessing an objectionable publication. He was ordered into military detention at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch and would be dismissed from the New Zealand Defence Force at the end of his sentence. His admission and its acceptance by the court marked the first spying conviction in New Zealand’s history. The soldier would be paid at half his previous rate until his dismissal
RSS