Triston Jay Amero (1982 – April 1, 2008) was an American who was found guilty of the hotel bombings that killed two people and wounded seven others in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
on March 22, 2006. The bombings damaged two low-rent hotels. A third bombing was stopped.
Amero, who also went by the names as Claudio Lestad, Lestat Claudius de Orleans y Montevideo and John Scheda, was from
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. He had reportedly been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment and had been in juvenile prison several times, beginning at age seven. He had wandered around
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
for some years before settling in the Bolivian city of
Potosí
Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...
in 2004. In posts from
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
to his blog he repeatedly described himself as a loner, a "political refugee" and "the Superman of Loosers"
icwhose strongest desire was to distance himself from the United States.
Although the Bolivian police were unsure of the motive for the bombings that led to Amero's arrest, President
Evo Morales declared: "This American was putting bombs in hotels." "The U.S. government fights terrorism, and they send us terrorists," he said. Morales denounced the bombings as an attack on Bolivia's democracy. He called it "typical of terrorist crime." This caused a brief cooling of
U.S.-Bolivian relations.
Deputy Interior Minister
Rafael Puente
Rafael Puente Suárez (born 5 February 1950) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager. He currently works as an analyst for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Mexico.
Career
Born in Mexico City, Puente began playing football with Mexican Pr ...
told Radio Fides: "The possible motives behind these attacks are incomprehensible. There don't seem to be any concrete objectives other than causing deaths."
Amero and an accomplice, Alda Ribiero Acosta of
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, were arrested by police in a hotel in the slum of
El Alto, formally charged with murder, and were held in a maximum security prison near
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
. While there, Amero attempted to stab his lawyer and had gasoline hidden in his cell, with plans to set fire to a prison official and a U.S. diplomat.
WTOP Jailed American Accused of Lawyer Attack
Amero was sentenced to 30 years in prison on January 23, 2008.
At the age of 26, Amero died in a hospital on April 1, 2008, after complaining of stomach pains while in prison.
References
1982 births
2006 murders in Bolivia
2008 deaths
21st-century American criminals
American people convicted of murder
American people imprisoned abroad
American people who died in prison custody
People convicted of murder by Bolivia
People from New Orleans
People imprisoned on charges of terrorism
Prisoners who died in Bolivian detention
Serial bombers
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