by Anthony C Heaford - 20 January 2019
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25 November 1994 - I spent an evening with a self professed former member of a European Red Army Faction terrorist group and his visitor, the future President of Bolivia Carlos Mesa. The European terrorist claimed to have been given political sanctuary in Bolivia since 1987. His visitor, Carlos Mesa, said he was there to deliver a message from the then President of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez. My full report: ‘The Bolivian Diaries’
03 October 2017 - A former member of a European Red Brigades terrorist group is arrested near the Bolivian border with Brazil carrying a large quantity of undeclared foreign currency. In 1993 an Italian court had sentenced Cesare Battisti in absentia to life imprisonment for four murders committed in the 1970s. Despite this terrorist conviction in Italy he was protected from extradition on human-rights grounds by the then President of Brazil. Link
01 November 2018 - A change of President in Brazil ends Battisti’s legal immunity and in conjunction with Italian police the extradition process begins. Link
13 December 2018 - A judge in Brazil orders the arrest of Battisti after the convicted terrorist had gone on the run, once again seeming to evade justice. Given the likelyhood that Battasti had sought refuge in Bolivia the judge requested that Interpol be notified as the matter would fall under their jurisdiction. Link
12 January 2019 - With the assistance of Bolivian police, Interpol arrested Cesare Battasti in Bolivia. Link
Summary
On the 13 December 2018 a Brazilian judge activated an international man-hunt for a former Red Brigade terrorist believed to be on the run in Bolivia. I determined that this announcement transformed my backpacking story about Red Army Faction terrorists colluding with the most senior politicians in Bolivia in 1994 from being a historical detail, to being current and actionable human-intel connected to Interpol’s hunt for a Red Brigade terrorist on-the-run in Bolivia.
And that is my reasoning and justification for wanting to refer these matters to Interpol’s Manchester office - I have first-hand information that I believe was and is actionable with regards to ongoing criminal investigations by Interpol. My human-intel is from Bolivia in this matter, and from Colombia in other cases involving kidnapping, international cocaine trade, paramilitary death squads and more.
Awaiting Updates…