BOLIVIAN PROSECUTOR TIES TERROR CASE TO CIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 000035 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/09 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM BL SUBJECT: BOLIVIAN PROSECUTOR TIES TERROR CASE TO CIA CLASSIFIED BY: William Mozdzierz, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, State, La Paz; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Bolivian prosecutor investigating a 2009 alleged domestic terrorism plot claims that the perpetrators' leader, Eduardo Rozsa, had been in regular contact with a former CIA employee and kept him informed of the group's activities in Bolivia. The prosecutor's assertion is the first specific GOB allegation of U.S. involvement in the Rozsa affair, in which the Bolivian government maintains it thwarted an attempt to set up a separatist military force, as well as a conspiracy to assassinate Bolivian President Evo Morales. Although the prosecutor stopped short of accusing the CIA of backing Rozsa's mercenary group, we can expect that GOB officials will make that claim, regardless of the evidence. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Marcelo Soza, the prosecutor in charge of investigating the April 2009 Rozsa case, announced February 5 that a review of Rozsa's computer hard drive had uncovered evidence of email communication between Rozsa and an alleged ex-CIA employee (a U.S. citizen named Belovays). According to Soza, Belovays had been active in the Balkans wars, where he supposedly met Rozsa and became his mentor. An internet search on Belovays suggested that he has since died, Soza reported (Rozsa and two others were killed in a police raid; another two suspects are in custody). Soza claimed that Rozsa's computer files show that Rozsa was in constant contact with Belovays -- who, Soza said, is assumed to have been in Bolivia at some point -- and kept him informed of his group's activities and plans. ¶3. (SBU) Soza did not provide any details of the alleged exchanges between Rozsa and Belovays, nor characterized Belovays's role beyond asserting that the alleged former agent had been aware of Rozsa's conspiracy. The Bolivian press has so far reported the story straight, sticking strictly to Soza's account but featuring headlines such as, "Soza Says CIA Knew Rozsa's Plans" and "Rozsa Informed CIA Agent of Work." ¶4. (C) Comment: Soza's initial claims may be limited in scope, but we expect that Bolivian government officials will not feel themselves similarly bound by actual evidence. For nearly a year, the GOB has maintained that Rozsa and his group represented a grave threat and that they were backed by enemies of President Morales (including prominent opposition and Santa Cruz civic leaders, who are increasingly the target of Soza's investigation). The Bolivian government is almost certain to seize upon this opportunity to link the U.S. "empire" to the alleged conspiracy and substantiate Morales's wildest claims about American skullduggery. Creamer