Bid to identify man shot dead in Bolivia

Irish officials were tonight liaising with Bolivian authorities in a bid to establish if an Irish national was among three men shot dead by police.

Michael Dwyer, 25, from Co Tipperary was named by Bolivian police as being one of a group of men allegedly involved in a plot to kill President Evo Morales.

They claim Mr Dwyer’s passport was found following a shoot-out in a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz on Thursday morning.

A spokeswoman for the Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said an official from its embassy in Argentina arrived in Bolivia to investigate following concerns from the Dwyer family.

“They (Dwyer family) contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday after media reports that named their son,” she said.

Graphic images of the man believed to be Mr Dwyer were yesterday printed in Bolivian newspapers and comments from friends were last night posted on his Bebo page.

It is believed Mr Dwyer had been living in Bolivia.

Confusion surrounds the precise nature of events surrounding the shooting and nationalities of those killed.

It is understood the Irish diplomat arrived at midnight Irish time.

“He’d be dealing with the authorities who have access to the body,” a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said.

Bolivian police identified the other two dead men as being Hungarian and a Bolivian with a Croatian passport.

They claim a cache of weapons was also discovered.

Although originally from Ballinderry in Co Tipperary, it is believed Mr Dwyer was a recent graduate and had lived in Galway.

Local Tipperary Fine Gael councillor Ger Darcy said the close-knit rural community was stunned by the news.

“There is complete shock. It’s bad enough to lose a son or a daughter without it being under these circumstances,” he said.