Prosecutor says Bolivian opposition backed plot

[Judi Lynn]

Prosecutor says Bolivian opposition backed plot
Tue May 5, 2009 5:45am BST

LA PAZ (Reuters) - The Bolivian prosecutor investigating an alleged plot to kill leftist President Evo Morales said a witness had implicated leading opposition figures in the conspiracy.
Last month, police raided a hotel in the opposition stronghold of Santa Cruz, killing three people and arresting two suspected of planning assassinations.

Marcelo Sosa, the prosecutor leading the probe, told reporters on Monday evening a person linked to the group, Ignacio Villa, testified that Santa Cruz businessman Branko Marinkovic and the province's right-wing governor offered financial aid.

Marinkovic made Villa "an economic offer" and Governor Ruben Costas "offered him a house and land," said Sosa.

"The aim of both offers was to (encourage) them to finish what they had started, a string of attacks," said Sosa, adding that Costas, Marinkovic and several other businessmen from Santa Cruz had been summoned to testify.

Neither Costas nor Marinkovic immediately responded to the accusations on Monday.

Morales had already accused right-wing politicians of involvement in the plan, which Costas and others have denied. Costas described the alleged plot as a "show" and the opposition condemned the police action as an "execution."

Sosa said a second witness declared that Marinkovic, a fierce critic of Morales and a prominent political activist, gave the group $200,000 (135,000 pounds) to buy weapons.

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