WORLD BRIEFING / BOLIVIA
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Bolivian officials were trying to determine who financed an apparent plot to assassinate President Evo Morales and what a group of alleged mercenaries -- including two who fought in the Balkan wars -- were doing in Bolivia.
Among three men killed and two arrested in a shootout in the opposition bastion of Santa Cruz, at least two had fought for Croatian independence, officials said.
Bolivian police closed in on the group Thursday, sparking a gun battle as the suspects fled to a downtown hotel and blew out its windows with a grenade.
Police commander Gen. Victor Hugo Escobar identified the apparent leader as Eduardo Rosza Flores, who had a Hungarian father and Bolivian mother. Rosza commanded a brigade in the Balkans in 1991, according to his personal blog.
Also killed was Magyarosi Arpak, a Romanian sniper, and Michel Martin Dwyer, an Irish expert in martial arts and weapons, the police commander said.
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