Federal Judge Norberto Oyarbide.
Federal Judge Norberto Oyarbide revealed the members of the Bomb Squad deactivated an explosive device set up to explode during former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe’s speech in the Gran Rex theater. “It’s a simple device but strong enough to create casualties,” he assured.
Oyarbide, who was present at the venue during the investigations, said that the device was found by maintenance staff in an area of the building where Uribe was expected to attend a cocktail with many other renowned personalities.
The Federal Judge informed that the device “was found by a maintenance man” and that it was “set up to explode at the time when Uribe was going to be attending this cocktail, scheduled to take place tomorrow at 4:30 pm.”
According to the judge, the bomb was also expected to create a power outage “which would create panic, confusion and even deaths” since the doors to the place could have been locked.
Oyarbide also suggested that the attack not only have targeted Uribe, but also looked to “create international repercussions” and hinder the country’s international image.
“We have managed to avoid some great damage to Argentina,” he stated.
Oyarbide said he had requested the guest list for Wednesday’s cocktail from the Colombian embassy.
buenosairesherald.com