Outsiders suspected in Bolivia car bombing

By Gloria Carrasco
CNN

LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- A car bomb that exploded last Friday in Santa Cruz, killing one person and wounding 7 others, may have been caused by international terrorists, authorities said Monday.

"What is very, very clear is that there is a link with an international group," said Leopoldo Fernandez, Bolivia's minister of government.

"It is the first time that we have seen an attack of this nature in our country, and for that reason this has to come from experiences and deeds from outside the borders."

The recent capture of 33 members of a band of thieves -- 26 Bolivians including two police chiefs, and seven Peruvians -- may prove to be an important clue to the investigators, he said.

"We are excluding absolutely nothing," said Walter Osinaga, a Bolivian police commandant.

Police have confirmed that whoever prepared the bomb knew what they were doing. "This is a professional job, but we cannot yet say who carried it out," Osinaga said.

The owner of the car used in the attack has been identified as Fermin Lima, a taxi driver. Authorities have not been able to locate him.

"We would not want to speculate who might be responsible, because doing so could interfere with the investigation," Fernandez said.

With an elite group of police assigned to the investigation, authorities said they would exhaust whatever resources needed to find those responsible.

The blast, which damaged nearby buildings and broke windows, occurred Friday afternoon near the police command headquarters.

A caller to a television station in Santa Cruz said a group called Mejores Dias para Bolivia -- Better Days for Bolivia -- was responsible.

That claim could not be independently confirmed. Police said they had never heard of the group.

About a half-hour after the bomb detonated, police said they found and deactivated another bomb in a Santa Cruz office of the Empresa Nacional de Telecommunications, the government-owned telephone company.

Authorities speculated the car bomb could be linked to Peruvian terrorists or drug traffickers.