The Santa Cruz police appear to have had no prior knowledge of the raid by a La Paz elite force, writes TOM HENNIGAN
IT WAS four in the morning last Thursday when Ramon Zurita, on night duty at the Hotel Las Americas, answered a knock at the door.
He opened up to be surprised by more than 30 elite police officers who silently but forcibly made their way into the lobby.
“They were all in camouflage, wearing goggles, each with two short machine-guns and a pistol. Some had shields. They were all big guys.”
The police made Zurita and the night porter keep their hands spread out on the lobby desk, cut the phone and asked where was the rear exit, says Zurita.
“Having secured the area, they then asked where the Hungarians, Croats and Irishman were staying. They knew who they were looking for. They were always professional but they were clearly pumped-up with adrenaline.”
Tipperary man Michael Dwyer was on the fourth floor, in room 457, along with four other men who had checked in that Tuesday evening. They were the only guests on the floor, the hotel being quiet again after a busy Holy Week.
Having located their targets, the main body of police silently made their way up the stairs. An explosion shook the building and there then followed 10-15 minutes of machine-gun fire.
Shortly after it stopped, Zurita and the night porter were herded into a back room and made lie on the floor. Unable to see anything, Zurita heard people descending the stairs.
Later when told that three of the guests on the fourth floor were dead and two others were prisoners, he realised this was the moment when the two prisoners were being whisked away.
By 4.50am, Hernan Rossell, the hotel’s manager arrived. He found the lobby full of police. It seemed the local Santa Cruz force had no knowledge of the raid and he sensed tension between them and the elite forces which he supposed came from the capital La Paz.
Rossell saw the scene of devastation for himself on the fourth floor.
Along with his lawyer, he remains the only person police have allowed to enter.
Shortly afterwards, a public prosecutor arrived at the scene and tried to take charge of the investigation, but was denied access by police.
“The police said the investigation was under the jurisdiction of La Paz and that no one could go up on to the fourth floor. The prosecutor complained but got nowhere,” says Rossell.
It was 4pm, 12 hours after police raided the hotel, when a prosecutor arrived from La Paz and the investigation started.
Forensic tests were conducted at the scene. Only afterwards were the bodies removed and police started to take away personal effects in the room.
“Then I asked if I could clean up,” says Rossell. “There was a lot of blood and it was turning black. All the doors and several windows were blown out by the explosion.
“With the windows blown open, flies were invading the floor. I cleaned it up myself. The police allowed me to seal the windows with plastic and then they sealed the floor. Since then no one is allowed up there.”
Rossell says Dwyer arrived with two other men in the group last Tuesday, with Eduardo Rózsa Flores, the supposed leader, and one other checking in later that evening: “They all clearly knew each other. They stayed on their floor, did not want the maids to make up their rooms and didn’t even eat in the restaurant. They had food with them in the rooms.”
At one stage, Dwyer came down looking for WiFi access for his laptop but that was the only time Rossell says staff remember seeing him after he checked in.
Another witness who says Dwyer was clearly part of the group is Maria Diez, owner and manager of the Asturias hotel, also in Santa Cruz.
Dwyer stayed there from January 12th until April 3rd. About the time he checked in, three of the group involved in last week’s incident also arrived along with two Hungarians whose names do not appear on the Las Americas guest register.
Bolivia’s police say they are still looking for several men they say were involved in the plot.
“The Irishman was very well-behaved, always polite,” remembers Diez. “He had his own room but was very friendly with the others.
“They breakfasted together and in the evenings were around the pool together. We never saw them with anyone else and they never said what they were doing in Bolivia. But they were good guests, never drinking excessively or anything like that.”