Reply #3: Man shot in Bolivia linked to racist gang

[Judi Lynn]

Man shot in Bolivia linked to racist gang
As Michael Dwyer's body comes home, his family and the government demand an inquiry
Henry McDonald, Ireland editor The Observer, Sunday 26 April 2009

Irishman shot dead in Bolivia was linked to a gang of neo-fascist extremists with roots in the Yugoslav civil war. The body of Michael Dwyer arrived in Ireland on Thursday night and a post-mortem examination is due in the next two days.

Bolivian police claim that Dwyer, 24, from Tipperary, was killed during a 30-minute gun fight in the city of Santa Cruz. However, Dwyer and two other men were asleep when the shooting started around 4am on 16 April. The Irish government is demanding an international investigation into his death.

Dwyer died alongside Eduardo Rozsa Flores, an adventurer who held a Croatian passport, and Arpad Magyarosi, a Romanian of Hungarian ethnicity. Bolivian authorities claim the trio were hatching a plot to assassinate the country's left-wing President Evo Morales.

It is now understood that Dwyer's associates were members of a group responsible for racist murders and attacks on indigenous Bolivians.

Dwyer's family are seeking an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death. It appears that Dwyer was drawn to the group after becoming a Facebook "friend" of gang leader Rozsa Flores, who was openly antisemitic and is believed to have been backed by right-wing elements in the wealthy city of Santa Cruz.

Bolivia was once a haven for members of the Croatian Ustashe fascist government. They fled to South America after the second world war, fearing retribution for siding with the Nazis and committing war crimes. Their passage to countries such as Bolivia was organised by Croatian clergy operating out of the Vatican.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/26/bolivia-irishman-gang-death