08 September 2004
United States Indicts Colombian Terrorist for Attempted Murder
Arturo Montano accused of November 2003 grenade attack in Bogota
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States has indicted a member of a Colombian terrorist organization for attempted murder and the use of weapons of mass destruction in a November 2003 grenade attack in Bogota, which killed a Colombian woman and injured 73 other people, including five Americans, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
In a September 7 statement, the Justice Department said the seven-count indictment alleges Arturo Montano Torres conspired in 2003 to murder U.S. nationals who were working in Bogota. The grenade blasts occurred at two dining establishments in a Bogota entertainment and shopping district known as Zona Rosa.
The Justice Department said Montano is a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which the U.S. State Department has designated as a terrorist organization. Montano, who was apprehended by Colombian police immediately after the 2003 attack, is presently in Colombian custody. The indictment alleges that the grenade attacks were in retaliation for the killing in October 2003 of several FARC members by the Colombian army.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said that "terrorists and terrorist organizations like the FARC who target innocent Americans living or traveling abroad must know that the U.S. government will take every step it can to bring them to justice for their cowardly attacks on our citizens."
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray added that the indictment, like other recent indictments of the FARC and its members, "shows the organization for what it truly is: a narco-terrorist operation that seeks to harm Americans and other innocent civilians. We will continue to work closely with our counterparts in Colombia to see that these terrorists are brought to justice."
The indictment alleges that Montano was selected by the FARC to travel to Bogota to attack and kill the Americans. The indictment said Montano was provided with grenades and other weapons and money prior to the attacks in Zona Rosa. In addition, Montano and others allegedly conducted surveillance on restaurants during the two days prior to the attacks.
According to the indictment, Montano threw a grenade onto an outdoor table at an establishment called the Bogota Beer Company, killing Colombian national Paola Martinez and injuring dozens of others, including four Americans. Montano then allegedly threw a grenade into the dining area of a second establishment called Palos de Moguer, injuring another American.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein of the District of Columbia, where the indictment was returned by a federal grand jury, said the case was the product of "hard work and cooperation" between the U.S. and Colombian governments.
Montano's arrest, said Wainstein, "demonstrates the courage and resolve of Colombian citizens and officials to put an end to ... barbaric violence on their soil."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=September&x=20040908162912AEneerG0.4069178&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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