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DE RUEHLP #0810/01 0821942
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P 231942Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8551
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 5711
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2983
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6861
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4092
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1411
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 1341
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 3660
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4053
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RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LA PAZ 000810 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA A/S SHANNON AND PDAS SHAPIRO 
STATE ALSO FOR WHA/AND 
NSC FOR DFISK 
USCINCSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI PTER ECON ETRD BL
SUBJECT: MORALES ACCUSES U.S. OF BEING BEHIND DEADLY 
BOMBINGS 
 
REF: A. LA PAZ 801 
     ¶B. LA PAZ 803 
     ¶C. LA PAZ 734 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David N. Greenlee for reasons 1.4d and b. 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: The deadly bombings in downtown La Paz late 
March 21 appear to be the isolated handiwork of a mentally 
unstable U.S. citizen and his Uruguayan partner (refs A and 
B).  But that hasn't stopped observers in Bolivia's political 
cauldron from speculating wildly about the hidden political 
motivations behind the crime.  President Morales, in a 
provocative but (we believe) calculated outburst that has 
further fueled speculation, accused the U.S. of being behind 
these "terrorist attacks," while Foreign Minister 
Choquehuanca claimed neo-liberal conspirators were seeking to 
destabilize Bolivia's democracy.  The Ambassador called 
Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera March 22 to express 
concern about the irresponsible GOB reaction, and the Embassy 
has halted all high-level contact with government officials, 
including cancelling a scheduled meeting to discuss the VP 
delegation's planned visit to Washington (ref C).  If the 
President's remarks reflect a deeper truth about his attitude 
toward the U.S., this unfortunate crime could foreshadow a 
tipping point in our bilateral relations.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) The bombings of two budget hotels in downtown La Paz 
late March 21, in which two people were killed and at least 
seven others injured, appear to be the handiwork of a 
psychologically unstable American citizen and his Uruguayan 
wife or girlfriend (ref A and B).  The 25-year-old American 
citizen suspect, who carries a U.S. passport under the name 
"Lestat Claudius De Orleans y Montevideo," entered Bolivia 
several weeks ago after being expelled from Argentina (where 
he served a six-month jail term for blowing up an ATM) and 
reportedly after being refused entry into Peru.  It is not 
known whether Bolivian immigration officials allowed De 
Orleans y Montevideo to enter Bolivia with his legitimate 
U.S. Passport or with his "World Services Authority" 
passport, a document that (to our knowledge) is not 
recognized by any country.  (Note: He reportedly has a 
legitimate Bolivian visa in the fantasy "world" document. 
End Note.)  A special Bolivian police investigative unit 
arrested both suspects immediately after the second, smaller 
blast went off.  The evidence against De Orleans y 
Montevideo, who has confessed to his role, is apparently all 
but conclusive. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Notwithstanding the manifestly isolated and 
apolitical nature of the crime, the bombs exploded in a 
highly charged Bolivian environment and have ignited a 
firestorm of speculation concerning their supposedly 
political motivation.  One close Embassy contact, for 
example, believed the bombs were the work of Cuban and 
Venezuelan agents aiming to destroy relations between the 
U.S. and Bolivia.  Others have sought to elevate their own 
political status by claiming to have been the intended 
targets.  In a March 22 meeting with Embassy officers, Vice 
Minister of Labor Miguel Albarracin Paredes said he lived 
less than two blocks away from the bombed hotels, and let the 
subsequent pregnant pause suggest the rest. 
 
¶4. (SBU) President Evo Morales further fueled the 
irresponsible speculation by publicly accusing the U.S. of 
being behind the attacks.  "The Government of the United 
States fights against terrorism and then sends Americans to 
commit terrorist acts in Bolivia," Morales said, "These 
attacks are a provocation against democracy, the Bolivian 
government and... the Constituent Assembly."  Morales then 
reiterated his pledge never to enter into a Free Trade 
Agreement (FTA) with the U.S.  (Morales spoke out while in 
Santa Cruz kicking off the Venezuela-sponsored campaign to 
provide identity documents to rural Bolivians, so Venezuelan 
advice about "how best to respond" cannot be ruled out as 
having shaped the flavor and content of the President's 
 
LA PAZ 00000810  002 OF 002 
 
 
remarks.)  Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca also joined 
the fray, publicly claiming that "neo-liberal" conspirators 
had planted the bombs to derail the MAS Government's 
democratic experiment. 
 
¶5.  (C) Far from an unfiltered emotional reaction to a 
terrible crime, the President's outbursts appear to reflect a 
studied political calculation.  We understand Morales 
received a detailed briefing in the early morning of March 22 
regarding the progress of the police investigation.  When 
they briefed Morales, police already had De Orleans y 
Montevideo in custody, knew about his unbalanced mental 
condition, that he had committed a similar crime in Argentina 
but had entered Bolivia legally, and that he had somehow 
acquired a legitimate Bolivian license to sell explosives. 
Morales first made his polemical remarks around noon March 22 
-- over six hours after he had received the police briefing 
-- and he repeated them in slightly toned down form later the 
same afternoon.  Some observers suggest that Morales' 
outburst was intended to placate hard-line supporters who 
viewed his supposed rapprochement with the U.S. -- evidenced 
by Morales' lunch meeting with the Ambassador the previous 
week -- as an unwelcome sign that Bolivia continued to 
capitulate to "imperial" pressures.  Others see it as 
providing concrete justification for the government's covert 
plan, supported by Cuba and Venezuela, to organize popular 
militias that will defend Bolivia against such foreign 
"terrorist" attacks in the future -- a plan the President 
referred to in his comments by calling on his social sector 
bases to organize themselves into self-defense committees. 
 
¶6.  (C) The Ambassador called Vice-President Alvaro Garcia 
Linera the afternoon of March 22 to express deep concern 
about the irresponsible GOB reaction, and to advise him that 
this would likely have consequences.  Garcia Linera agreed 
that the President's remarks had been unhelpful.  Embassy 
officers then cancelled scheduled meetings with high-level 
government officials, explaining that the timing had become 
"inconvenient."  This included a meeting with VP Garcia and 
Foreign Minister Choquehuanca, set for the early morning of 
March 23, in connection with the GOB delegation's proposed 
trip to Washington to discuss soy and other economic issues 
(ref). 
 
¶7.  (C) Comment: If President Morales' intemperate remarks 
reflect a "deeper truth" about his political attitudes and 
intentions toward the U.S., it turns out that chance may have 
dealt destiny a blow in this case.   That is, an unfortunate 
crime, that by sheer happenstance was perpetrated by a U.S. 
citizen, could foreshadow a crucial tipping point in our 
broader relations with the current Bolivian government. 
GREENLEE