Morales assassins: Bolivia gang "fought in Balkans"

[Jan Klimkowski]

Paperclips? Did someone mention paperclips?

Move along. Nothing to see here.

Eduardo Rózsa Flores, also known as Jorge Hurtado Flores, 48, a Bolivian-Croatian national, who was reportedly the leader of the Bolivian operation. Flores’ journey is an interesting one, to say the least. He was born to a Hungarian father and Spanish mother, who in 1972 left Bolivia for Chile, in support of Chilean president Salvador Allende’s socialist experiment. The Flores family later moved to Europe, where Eduardo’s political views shifted gradually to the right. In 1992, he moved to Croatia, where he fought as a mercenary for the anti-Yugoslav nationalist forces and eventually led the Croatian forces’ First International Platoon (Prvi Internacionalni Vod, known as PIV), an amalgamation of foreign nationalist mercenaries from several nations operating under Croatian command. At the end of the Yugoslav Wars, Flores was awarded Croatian citizenship and moved to Hungary, where he became increasingly vocal in far-right circles. According [9] to one of his Hungarian contacts, Flores relocated to Bolivia in May 2008 “to fight against its communist government”.

Links to Opposition Financiers

Several Bolivian officials have said [10] that Eduardo Rózsa Flores was invited to join the militant anti-Morales opposition by Branko Gora Marinković Jovicević [11], 42, one of Bolivia’s richest individuals and a well-known financier of the anti-government opposition. Marinković, who holds dual Bolivian-Croatian citizenship, was born to a Croat father and a Montenegrin mother, who immigrated to Bolivia from Yugoslavia in the 1950s, allegedly under fear of retribution after having collaborated with Nazi-affiliated Croat forces during World War II. A resident of prosperous Santa Cruz, Marinković was until recently a leader in the separatist campaign by Bolivia’s energy-rich white-controlled provinces. In late 2008, however, he stepped out of the political limelight, reportedly to shield the movement from revelations about his family’s “Nazi past”.

Behind the Operation

It has already been confirmed by several sources in Bolivia, Croatia, Hungary and elsewhere, that at least three of the five members of the covert cell fought (possibly together) in the Croatian War of Independence during the 1990s. What is more, Bolivian investigators have traced the mercenaries’ travel routes from Croatia and Ireland to Bolivia.

The fact that the five were staying in one of the country’s most luxurious hotels is undoubtedly seen by investigators as evidence of substantial funding in support of the operation. The Croatian link connecting most of the five mercenaries, including alleged leader Eduardo Flores, is also important. Traditionally, the militant far right in Bolivia, Venezuela and Guatemala has relied on mercenaries from nearby Colombia, Nicaragua, Argentina or the United States. Inviting European mercenaries is certainly not unheard of, but it is notably rare, and points to possible connections with Branko Marinković. Additionally, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the five to operate out of Santa Cruz without the tacit consent of Marinković and his clique, who virtually own the city.

US Involvement Suspected

The question, of course, is whether Langley was aware of the covert operation. US media outlets have remained strangely silent on the entire affair. But European media, where the news from Bolivia has been making headlines, report [12] that an enraged Evo Morales asked US President Barack Obama “to repudiate the plot” during a closed-door session, noting that “[i]f the US president did not repudiate the alleged conspiracy I might think it was organized through the [US] embassy”. President Obama reportedly [13] told his Bolivian counterpart that “he was unfamiliar with the incident” and denied that “his administration was [...] involved”.

Meanwhile, the investigation in La Paz continues. Sources tell me that Interpol has confirmed the mercenaries’ travel routes and Croatian connection, and it is actively assisting Bolivian investigators. It is admittedly rare that two members of an alleged international assassination squad are captured alive, or that laptops and documents containing information on planned operations are seized by government authorities. It could well be the case that Bolivian officials are already in possession of information that may soon embarrass several intelligence services in the Americas and beyond.

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[9] P. Sherwell (2009) “My meeting with the man accused of plotting the assassination of Evo Morales”, The Daily Telegraph, 20 April.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...rales.html

[10] P. Sherwell (2009) “My meeting with the man accused of plotting the assassination of Evo Morales”, The Daily Telegraph, 20 April.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...rales.html

[11] S. Romero (2008) “In Bolivia, a Croat and a Critic Is Cast in a Harsh Light”, The New York Times, 26 September.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/...wanted=all

[12] R. Carroll (2009) “Bolivian president Morales links US embassy to alleged assassination attempt”, The Guardian, 20 April.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr...us-embassy

[13] R. Carroll (2009) “Bolivian president Morales links US embassy to alleged assassination attempt”, The Guardian, 20 April.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr...us-embassy

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2009...n-bolivia/