The Assassinations of Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson
La Paz, Bolivia, May 24, 1989
Ryan Reeder
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has frequently encountered persecution. This persecution has taken many forms. From anti-Mormon literature to an extermination order; from Haun's Mill to the Battle of Nauvoo, persecutions have raged, mobs have combined, armies have assembled, and calumny has defamed. Yet through it all, the truth of God has gone forth "boldly, nobly and independent" as The Church of Jesus Christ has sought to fulfill its "divine commission to preach the gospel in every nation and to every creature." (1)
One of the rarest and yet most visible forms of persecution has been the assassination of missionaries laboring in the field. Some missionaries have been killed because of anti-Mormon hostility, some have been killed for political reasons, and some have simply been victims of random attacks. These assassinations have included the following missionaries:
On July 21, 1879, Elders Joseph Standing and Rudger Clawson were accosted by an armed mob outside Varnell's Station, Georgia. Elder Standing was killed; Elder Clawson was allowed to escape, later serving many years as President of the Quorum of the Twelve. (2)
In the August 10, 1884 Cane Creek Massacre in Tennessee, five people were killed, including two missionaries, Elders William Berry and John H. Gibbs. B. H. Roberts, acting mission president, retrieved the bodies at great personal risk and sent them back to Utah. (3)
October 28, 1974 saw Elders Mark Fischer and Gary Darley killed in Austin, Texas by Robert Kleasen, a disaffected member of the ward where they had been serving. (4)
On December 15, 1979, Sisters Elizabeth King and Ruth Teuscher, two senior missionaries, both widows, were found beaten and shot to death in a car in a parking lot in North Charleston, South Carolina. (5)
Elder Roger Hunt was killed in February 1987 in Lisbon, Portugal by a security guard who thought he had stolen a car. (6)
Because of political unrest, five missionaries, two Americans, Elders Jeffrey Ball and Todd Wilson, and three Peruvians, Elders Manuel Hidalgo, Cristian Ugarte, and Oscar Zapata were killed in Bolivia and Peru on May 24, 1989, August 22, 1990, and March 6, 1991. (7)
Elder Gale Critchfield was stabbed to death in Dublin, Ireland on May 27, 1990. (8)
Most recently, Elder José Mackintosh was killed in Ufa, Russia on October 17, 1998. (9)
More than simply a summary listing of names, dates, and places, The Church of Jesus Christ views these slain missionaries as martyrs. Their names "will be engraved forever in the history of this Church as those who lived as faithful servants of God and died as martyrs to His eternal work[s]." (10) In that light, this paper will focus on one of these tragic events, that of the assassinations of Elders Ball and Wilson in La Paz, Bolivia on May 24, 1989. Elders Ball and Wilson were murdered by a terrorist organization which associated them and The Church of Jesus Christ with American imperialist activities, which assassination not only resulted in grief in their homes, church, and communities, and the arrest and prosecution of their assailants, but combined with other tragedies, eventually resulted in the decision to temporarily remove all North American missionaries from the area. This paper will examine their martyrdom and its consequences. It will try to reconstruct what happened the night they were killed, as well as the climate that led to it. Then it will seek to understand the motives of the revolutionary group that claimed responsibility for the murders, the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación (Armed Liberation Forces-FAL) Zarate Willka, and whether they specifically targeted the missionaries. It will look to the responses, both in Bolivia and the United States, as family members and friends mourned and governments were outraged. Finally, this paper will show what befell this group, as well as the aftermath regarding The Church of Jesus Christ in this region during the ensuing years, including my personal experiences as a missionary in the Bolivia Cochabamba mission. Through understanding the circumstances surrounding the assassinations of these two martyrs, their memories will be preserved and the cause they died for will be honored.
Elders Ball and Wilson
Jeffrey Brent Ball was born December 8, 1968, the second of three children born to Alfred Brent Ball and Lois Joyce Bates Ball of Wanship, outside Coalville, Utah, who operated a family business, the Rafter-B Gas 'N Grub. (11) He was a stockily built athlete and an all-state football player for three consecutive years, acting as the varsity team captain for two of those years. (12) He was also active in student politics at North Summit High School in Coalville, Utah, where he served as student body vice president. (13) His older sister, Wendy, described him as "a powerful authority who also had a caring soft side he tried to hide but couldn't." (14) His desire to serve a mission was manifested by his selling his Jeep that he "dearly loved" to finance it. (15) He entered the MTC in June 1988, and served contemporaneously with his sister, who labored in the Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission. At eighteen, their younger brother Greg was preparing to serve his mission. (16)
Todd Ray Wilson was born May 5, 1969. While he came from a much larger family and was not involved in the same extra-curricular activities as Jeffrey Ball, both shared a similar dedication to the ideal of missionary work. He was the seventh of ten children born to mine electrician Avril Gray Wilson and his wife Elaine Bunderson Wilson of Wellington, a small town about five miles southeast of Price, Utah. He had been an honor student at Carbon High School, and had begun attending the College of Eastern Utah, while working as the night manager at Wendy's Restaurant in Price. But in order to save more money for his mission, he dropped his classes and continued to work late at night. He had "looked forward to his mission above all else." (17) He entered the MTC in July 1988. At the time of his death, his brother Brad was preparing to depart for his mission. (18)
Terrorism in Bolivia
When Elders Ball and Wilson arrived in Bolivia in 1988, they entered an environment of severe political unrest and anti-Mormon antagonism in the nation and in Latin America generally. The first violent attacks against The Church of Jesus Christ occurred in Colombia where two meetinghouses were bombed eight times. (19) Between 1984 and 1989, targets of The Church of Jesus Christ in Latin America were hit by terrorists sixty-two times. The majority of these attacks (46) occurred in Chile, though five attacks took place in Bolivia. The Church of Jesus Christ in Latin America was attacked in this period more frequently than any other American-based bank, business, Church, or other institution. (20)
One group that specifically targeted The Church of Jesus Christ in Bolivia was known as Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Zarate Willka (hereafter referred to as FAL Zarate Willka), named for a nineteenth century Indian hero. (21) FAL Zarate Willka was apparently formed around 1985, but was relatively unknown. It first surfaced in August 1988 in connection with a failed attack on former Secretary of State George Shultz, who was in La Paz for talks with government officials. A bomb exploded near his motorcade, but no one was hurt. The group later claimed responsibility for an attack on the Bolivian Parliament and caused a blackout in La Paz with another bombing. Later that year on December 20, 1989, protesting American intervention in Panama, they attacked the U.S. Embassy in a failed attempt to assassinate U.S. Ambassador Robert Gelbard. (22)
This group had previously assaulted the Church on several occasions. At one point, not long before the assassinations, it bombed the Villa Victoria chapel in Elder Ball and Wilson's area, which sustained severe damage to the entrance and exterior facade. (23) A former sister missionary, Lynn (Skie) Florman, who had been working in a nearby area at the time, and who saw the chapel the next day, describes:
At one point, the chapel in Villa Victoria (a few blocks from where the Elders were killed, and in their area) had its doors blown off in an explosion just after several members had left a choir practice one evening. We saw it the next day, and were shown how the intruders had sawed one part of the back fence enough to be able to swing it up and crawl under it to get into the church grounds. Witnesses that night said that they had seen a cardboard box under the pew inside the front door, which is where the explosion occurred. All of us were concerned, especially because the graffiti written on the side of the chapel said "Americans go home." (24)
Other chapels were robbed, and another nearby chapel was nearly bombed. A young man took the bomb home to his family, where somehow, it never detonated. This same sister, Lynn Florman, visited that family the next day, who lived in her area. She reports:
It seems a couple weeks later, we were talking with a family in the Barrio Alto San Pedro about an incident that had happened after Mutual the night before. This family lived across the street from the chapel. That night their young son had seen a cardboard box under the pew by the front door and had brought it home thinking that it belonged to one of the members. The next morning he showed it to his mother, who opened the box. Inside was a bomb that had not detonated. The family left their home and called police, who came to investigate the bomb. According to this family, the bomb had two wires, one which acted as a backup. The police told them that, although the first wire was disconnected, the second was still intact, and they had no explanation why the bomb had not gone off. The mother was convinced that it was a miracle. Again the graffiti on the chapel said "Americans go home." (25)
As a result of these experiences, she reported the incidents to the Mission President, Steven R. Wright, who did not feel inspired to remove missionaries from the area, but counseled them to live close to the spirit and follow that inspiration. Not long after, tragedy transpired.
The Assassinations
For several months, members of FAL Zarate Willka had been determining the schedules of the missionaries. Police discovered that one group member, Susana Zapana Hannover, had been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ; (26) another had been receiving discussions from the zone leader over the area. (27) A rumor later surfaced of a hit list that the group held which named several other missionaries and Americans in the area. (28) On Wednesday, May 24, 1989, after returning at about 9:30 p.m., the Elders left their apartment. There are two theories explaining why they left. One says that they had simply returned home that evening without having eaten dinner. Since they were hungry, they decided to eat. Thus, they were returning to their apartment at about 10:20 that evening. (29) The other idea is that the assassins lured them out by having someone call them saying that the sisters needed a film projector. Such a call seemed plausible since the sisters didn't have a telephone. They were then followed back to their apartment as they returned at about 10:20 p.m. (30)
As they were about to enter their apartment, a yellow compact car (possibly a Volkswagen) drove by, and they were shot with 9 mm machine gun fire.
One Elder was killed instantly as a bullet penetrated his heart. The other received a spray of bullets in his stomach and back. He remained conscious for a few minutes, then passed away in an ambulance. (31)
Elder Ball and Elder Wilson shared an apartment with two other missionaries, Elder Thayne Carlson and Elder V. Shane Mylroie. (32) Elder Mylroie was first to find them. They called an ambulance and notified President Wright. Following the martyrdoms, Elder Carlson had a very interesting, spiritual experience about that night, his father, and the following days. (33)
Within half an hour of the slayings, a note from FAL Zarate Willka was received at the newspaper offices of El Matunino Ultima Hora de La Paz. It read:
"Yankees and their Bolivian lackeys' violation of our national sovereignty will not remain unpunished. The Yankee invaders who come to massacre our peasant brethren are warned, as are their local slaves. We, the poor, have no other road than to rise up in arms. Our hatred is implacable, and our war is to the death." (34)
Motivations
Why did this group attack The Church of Jesus Christ along with Bolivian and U.S. Government targets? Why were missionaries targeted? Why specifically Elders Ball and Wilson?
At first, beyond the note received at newspaper offices, officials knew little about FAL Zarate Willka's philosophy. One United States House Foreign Affairs Committee member theorized that the attack could have come from the political left or right, "the left, because they [the missionaries] represent anti-communist America; the right because they proselytize the Indians, and (those on the right) want them left alone and unchanged. The right includes the big landowners and mine owners." (35) Some guessed that this group might be a branch of the Sendero Luminoso, a prominent Peruvian terrorist group. (36)
At this time, the United States had three main goals in Bolivia, "fostering democracy, supporting economic stabilization and development and reducing production of coca, the plant used to make cocaine," (37) of which the single largest interest was "the impact that production of the coca and cocaine has on the body politic up here. The No. 1 U.S. interest in Bolivia is doing away with that problem." (38) The general climate in Bolivia reflected dissatisfaction with these policies. One former sister missionary reports being accosted by groups of students demanding to know why Bolivia should change its coca culture because the United States had a drug problem. (39) Even years later in 1995, I remember seeing graffiti asserting that "Coca is not cocaine nor Coca-Cola."
It was early theorized by Bolivian and U.S. officials that this group resisted U.S. anti-drug policies, possibly being connected with drug traffickers. (40) However, this drug theory later became seen as only part of a larger problem as officials discovered FAL Zarate Willka's Marxist ideology, which was mixed with the philosophies of an Indian Rights movement known as Katarismo. (41) Such findings were further confirmed as authorities learned that one or more of the rebels had received bomb training in Cuba. "It's pure Cuban terrorism, I don't think there is any question about it," said Ambassador Robert Gelbard. (42) Thus, Bolivian Marxist ideologues and politicians such as FAL Zarate Willka considered United States anti-drug and military aid programs as violating their national sovereignty. In addition to using the United States as a scapegoat for Bolivia's problems, FAL Zarate Willka "sought revenge for their political party's poor showing in Bolivia's recent national election," on May 15, blaming the United States. for this as well, claimed Gelbard. (43)
But why did FAL Zarate Willka attack religious targets because of their opposition to the United States? Simply put, they viewed The Church of Jesus Christ as an imperialist agent of U.S. interests. While this may seem unreasonable to an organization that constantly affirms its political neutrality and disavows any connection with any government, according to leftist groups, "the connection is so apparent that there is no need to explain or justify it." (44) Latin America does not share the tradition of separation of church and state found in the United States. On the contrary, religion has played a prominent role in politics since the European colonization of the 1500s. Their idea of imperialism is not limited to territorial expansion, but "involves a whole series of political, cultural, and religious means," (45) including The Church of Jesus Christ. This view of The Church of Jesus Christ as Yankee is reinforced by a heavy American missionary presence, midwestern worship styles, centralization of the Church in the United States, and the Church's doctrinal justification of the U.S. Constitution (Doctrine and Covenants 98:4-10; 101:76-80). This view is further substantiated by the tithes and offerings that go directly to Salt Lake, The Church's extensive corporate holdings, and the impressive structure and location of its buildings. (46)
It is generally felt that this group targeted American missionaries because they were such an easy mark. Their white shirts, ties, and name tags made them stand out prominently, to say nothing of their generally fair complexion and relative height. Elders Ball and Wilson worked in a particularly poor, rough section of La Paz that was "was well known for its brothels and bars, and the fact that most of the people in that part of town wouldn't say anything about what they saw." (47) Indeed, the United States felt it necessary to offer a $500,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the assassins, in an attempt to induce individuals to come forward. (48) Finally, while some have speculated that Elders Ball and Wilson were not the intended targets, that "the group made a mistake and then decided to run with it" and the assassination was "nothing but a tragic error," (49) the evidence suggesting that the missionaries were staked out, might have been lured from their apartment, as well as the fact that the group particularly targeted The Church of Jesus Christ, and had even bombed a chapel in the Elders' own area, combined with the assertion of the U.S. Consul in Bolivia that the terrorists could have assassinated practically any member of the U.S. diplomatic mission had they merely desired an American target (50) overwhelmingly suggests that Elders Ball and Wilson were specifically marked by the terrorists for assassination.
Reaction in the Mission and at Home
Word spread quickly in the mission. Some described their reaction as "devastating;" (51) others said that because of prior experiences, they were "saddened, but not really surprised." (52)
One said that when he heard the news, he "was very, very shocked. Tears came to my eyes as I thought of these two young men and their families." (53) "I speak for the other missionaries when I say I'm scared right now. We're real scared," said Elder Mark Huffaker, a former companion of Elder Ball to Deseret News reporters. ""We're all kind of scared right now," echoed Elder Brad Giles, who served with Elder Wilson. "I guess it's fear of the unknown. But everyone still wants to finish their missions." (54)
Ryan Young's experience with his companion, Elder Wilson's former MTC companion, was especially interesting. He recounts:
I still can vividly remember my experience with him on the night they were shot. I remember that we had gotten done with a charla [discussion] late that night, and were walking home at about the time they were shot. For most of the day, we had been joking around, and taking it easy, but I remember feeling very, very angry for no real reason. Elder Wayment [his companion] kept asking me why I was so upset but I couldn't tell him why. At the time, we were . . . not far from were they were shot. Anyway, we arrived home, and went to bed. About 1:00 am we were awakened by our landlady who said to come quick, that there was an important phone call. I got up and ran down to the phone. On the other end was Elder Eastland . . ., he had also been a companion with Elder Wayment, and knew that Elder Wayment had been companions with Elder Wilson. Anyway, he told me to get Wayment right now. I ran back down the hall and told my companion to hurry and get the phone that it was Eastland. When he got to the phone he spends about the next five minutes saying things like there was no way, and that he couldn't believe it. Finally he came back to our room and told me what happened. He was crying the whole time, and I sat there in total shock. It was almost impossible to believe that something like that could happen. In many ways the whole thing didn't seem real. (55)
Similar response was heard in Utah. That night in Wellington, Stake President Roger Branch interviewed Elder Wilson's younger brother, Brad, as he prepared for his mission. A few hours later, he and the bishop went to the Wilson home to notify them of the murders. Brad was asleep on the couch, but awoke when he heard his parents crying. President Branch then witnessed Sister Wilson whom he described as an "angel," consoling her family. (56)
The next day, the First Presidency issued a statement reading in part: "We are grieved to learn of the assassination of two of our missionaries . . . We regret that anyone would think that these . . ., who have been sent to preach the gospel of peace, would be characterized as enemies of any group. They have died as martyrs in the cause of the Lord." (57)
Community reaction was one of shock. Coalville Utah Stake President Myron Richins said, "This is something we can't explain. It takes something greater and more powerful than us." (58) Jane Caspar, a friend of the Ball family explained the general feeling, "No one can comprehend it; it's just unbelievable. It's something that happens somewhere else to someone else's kids." (59) Another friend, Terry McQueen lamented, "He was there doing what the Lord wanted him to do, so why did this happen?" (60) Later that year, the football team that Jeff Ball had captained dedicated their season to him and went on to win the 1A High School Championship with an 11-1 season. (61) A scholarship fund was also established in his memory. (62)
The bodies of the missionaries arrived in Salt Lake City on Delta Flight 705 on Sunday, May 28. Awaiting the plane's arrival were Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Russell C. Taylor of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, and Elder Ball's mother, father, grandfather, brother, and sister, Wendy, who had taken a leave of absence from her mission. The Wilsons chose to attend their Sunday meetings in Wellington, and had asked a family friend, a local mortician, to pick up Elder Wilson's body. Elder Ballard told reporters at the airport, "These missionaries returned to us today in these caskets have fulfilled a noble service . . . we pray that hearts will be softened and tragedies like this will never occur again to such wonderful, good men who have devoted their lives to preaching the gospel of peace." (63)
The funerals for both elders were held at noon on Tuesday, May 30 in their respective hometowns. Elder Ball's funeral was attended by President Ezra Taft Benson and his counselor Thomas S. Monson, as well as Elder Ballard and Elder Monte J. Brough of the Seventy and over one thousand guests. (64) President Benson's other counselor, Gordon B. Hinckley, presided at Elder Wilson's funeral, which was also attended by Elder L. Tom Perry of the Twelve, Elder Taylor, and seven hundred others. (65) "Missionaries are so dear to the entire church that when one is lost through death the entire church grieves," said President Hinckley. (66) President Monson affirmed, "It is no small thing to have every missionary parent praying for you and knowing that your hearts are filled with sorrow." He continued, "I think your son would say, 'Do not grieve, mother. Do not sorrow, father. I am on the Lord's errand and he may do with me as he sees fit.'" (67) Elder Ballard stated that out of about 447,969 missionaries who had served, only 525 had lost their lives. (68) And of those, Elder Perry declared, only 17 had died as martyrs in this cause. (69) President Hinckley reminded, "He might have given his life in other causes. He could not have given it in a greater cause than this." (70) Wendy Ball and Dan and Diane Wilson, siblings of the Elders, also spoke. Dan read from Elder Wilson's missionary journal, "I know that my call was inspired of God and there is someone in Bolivia that only I can touch." (71) Wendy commented on a humorous missionary incident of her brother's saying, "He always told us to keep a sense of humor." (72) Dan and Diane Wilson together concluded their brother's tribute, reciting what they felt their brother might say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." (73)
Similar feelings were expressed at a memorial service held Sunday May 28 in the Sopocachi Stake Center in La Paz, Bolivia. More than 1,500 people attended this meeting, including 120 missionaries. Church leaders and former companions expressed condolences and renewed their dedication to missionary work. (74) President Wright may have shared a dream he had which Elder Ballard later quoted in General Conference:
I saw these two elders dressed in white, standing at the doors of a beautiful building. They were greeting numerous people, who also were dressed in white as they entered the building. It was obvious from their dress that those who entered were Bolivians. I envisioned the temple that will someday be built in Bolivia. Elders Wilson and Ball were ushering those they had prepared to receive the gospel in the spirit world into the temple to witness the vicarious ordinances being performed in their behalf. This dream has been a great comfort to me and has helped me to understand and accept their deaths. (75)
Following the assassinations, all missionaries were ordered to remain in their rooms for one full week. (76) They were told only to leave when absolutely necessary, and then to wear preparation day clothing instead of regular missionary attire. (77) Members brought in their meals. (78) While they were allowed to attend their meetings on Sunday, including the memorial service, (79) and were reported to be "in good spirits," (80) that week was still difficult. Many worried about their investigators, who would not receive regular contact, and who, if the missionaries were transferred or redeployed, might not be contacted again for "quite some time." (81) Parents of the missionaries were allowed to contact their sons and daughters during this time. Elder Young remembered "how upset my Dad was when he heard the news on the radio on the way to work." (82) Another mother expressed of her son, "I just don't know how I'm going to live through the next year if he stays there." (83) It was a tense situation. "I don't think anyone felt secure at the time," expressed Elder Young. (84)
When missionaries did begin to leave their apartments, they did so at first without wearing their name tags, (85) though shortly after they resumed doing so. Elder M. Russell Ballard, accompanied by Elder Charles Didier of the Seventy, toured nine missions in early June in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. During this visit, they "gave instructions to the missionaries concerning safety precautions they need to observe, including returning to their apartments by 9:30 p.m. and how to travel and conduct themselves in the present climate." The Church leaders were accompanied by Richard T. Bretzing, managing director of Church security and a retired FBI agent, who gave the missionaries "guidelines for taking precautionary measures," such as to "change [their] routine every day and not do the same things at the same time." (86)
There was a push to pair North American missionaries with Latin missionaries as a precautionary measure, but as one Elder recalls,
"I don't know how strict that was. . . . From what I recall of the situation, Zarate Willka had issued a statement saying that any Latins caught with the North Americans would be considered North Americans as well and be killed. I was paired up with a North American companion and moved to the very south part of the mission. If my memory serves me correctly, the immediate area was closed and surrounding areas were populated with strictly Latin Elders."
Despite these precautions, trouble continued to brew. Missionaries were pulled out over the fourth of July in Huanuni, Oruro, a 'hot spot,' where in an unreported incident in the mid- 1970s the Elders' home was blown up in their absence, killing the members who were staying there. (88) Sister Kenna Manwaring (formerly Anderson) related her experiences during the evacuation:
I was serving in a mining town called Huanuni way up in the Andes and because of some unrest and threats in other mining towns we were pulled out of there over the fourth of July and all missionaries had to stay indoors. Because we were in a small town and there were no phones, our zone leaders had to come out and find us both after the Elders were killed and when they pulled us out over the 4th of July. There were no buses in town and the buses that came in and out of town all quit at sundown so when our zone leaders came out they had to look for us. By the time they found us on the 3rd of July it was late. We then had to try and find the Elders so that we could leave on the last bus. I remember running clear across town to their dinner appointment hoping to find them and having very little time to do it. We barely made it. (89)
Less than a week later, during the evening of Monday, July 10, 1989, the Hamacas Ward chapel in Santa Cruz, Bolivia was bombed. According to Erwin Birnbaumer, Paraíso Stake President, the bomb caused an estimated $16,000 in damage. While he asserted that "a bomb is not going to scare any of us," the First Presidency responded to the general political unrest by reassigning some American missionaries in Bolivia and Peru to other countries and sending others home early. Mission presidents were contacted directly by members of the First Presidency, and informed that "all (American) missionaries with release dates between now [July] and December will be sent home this month and next." While a few Americans remained in the mission, most were sent home or redeployed. (90) Any new American missionaries who arrived were dark-complexioned or Hispanic, "not blondies." (91) These changes reduced the ratio of North American missionaries to their Latin counterparts to about 30/70. (92) Six American sisters were reassigned to the Texas Houston Spanish speaking Mission. Sister Anderson, who was evacuated from Huanuni, was one of these. She wrote:
It was very difficult for me to make that transfer because . . . [I] had already grown to love Bolivia and the Bolivian people. . . .That was not an easy thing for me . . . However, we each received a new letter from the Prophet telling us that we had been called to serve a mission and assigned to serve in Bolivia and now the assignment had been changed. Seeing his signature changed my feelings and I knew that I needed to serve as I was asked. It wasn't easy but it was right. (93)
Government Response
The impact of the assassinations was not limited to The Church of Jesus Christ and its members, however. Political, not religious factors motivated the assassinations, and politics soon became involved.
The Governments of Bolivia and the United States both responded with outrage shortly following the attack. Utah's senior senator, Jake Garn (R-UT) expressed, "Such wanton and cowardly acts are among the most disgusting and callous actions of which human beings are capable. They are unforgivable under any circumstances but seem especially so when the victims are young men who have made great personal sacrifices and dedicated themselves to serve their church and fellow man." Orrin Hatch (R-UT) echoed his colleague, calling the killings "a heinous act" of terrorism; "their service was in no way political, and they were innocents in this despicable act." (94)
Helen Lane, Bolivian desk officer for the U.S. State Department, expressed the Bolivians' dismay at the slayings,
The Bolivian government - from the president on down - is shocked by the crime. . . . The work of Mormon missionaries is quite well regarded down there. Several newspapers have written editorials condemning the murders. It was a shock because violent crime is not all that common in Bolivia. These were the first assassinations in memory, at least in several years. (95)
Consequently, as is permitted any time an American citizen is killed by terrorists, an FBI probe was sent to Bolivia on May 30 to investigate the slayings. (96) The investigation included five or six members who brought ballistics laboratory equipment, polygraphs, and other equipment. One agent, Michael McPheters, commented on the Bolivians' lack of equipment, "the only big case they'd ever had was when terrorists tried to kill George Shultz. They had one microscope that looked like it came from a high school biology class about twenty years ago. They didn't have cars and they didn't have many guns either." (97) Two of the agents served as liaison between the Embassy and the Minister of the Interior, which heads the Bolivian police. One worked the ballistics equipment, while the other operated the lie detector. McPheters hit the streets with a Bolivian policeman, where they "went through it with a fine-tooth comb and developed witnesses who saw and heard things," in an effort to reconstruct the chronology of the crime. The decision to offer a $500,000 reward was made on June 17 to encourage local residents to come forward with information. (98) While this may have helped, Robert Wharten, press attaché at the U.S. Embassy said that the arrests were "the result of good, solid police work on the part of the Bolivians. The Bolivians should be credited for them." (99)
The initial arrests took place over one week. On Saturday, June 24, after following a "trail of suspects," police arrested Constantino Yujra Loza, (100) a sociology student, and his cousin, who was later released. Yujra declared that the police "approached me and told me 'I have an arrest warrant,' whereupon I resisted and even tried to escape, so they grabbed me and started to hit me brutally until they had me on the ground. They did the same thing to my cousin." (101) Yujra later confessed to having participated in the attack on George Shultz. (102) By Wednesday, June 28, police had also arrested Dr. Gabriel Rojas Bilbao, alleged ideological leader of FAL Zarate Willka, and Tema Salazar Mamani. (103) These arrests led to the naming of brothers Nelson and Félix Encinas Laguna as prime suspects of the bomb on Parliament, and according to Information Minister Hermán Antelo, there were also "indications of their participation in the murders" of Elders Ball and Wilson. Also suspected were two individuals known as "Horacio" and "El Sapo" (the toad), presumably the leaders of the group. Cnl. Antonio Rojas, a Bolivian officer assigned to the case, stated that while they were staking out the home of Susana Zapana (the suspect who had been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ),
At 11:30 p.m., Susana hadn't arrived to tell us who Horacio was. . . . But two young men did arrive and began to knock on the door and nobody opened it . . . So one of our men went to speak with them, and immediately they both ran away. We didn't know who they were. . . . One of our men ran, 'stop, stop, stop,' and threw them both to the ground. We didn't know who they were, but afterwards they turned out to be Felix and Nelson Encinas. (104)
Despite these arrests, several members of FAL Zarate Willka remained at large, including Johnny Justino Peralta Espinoza, the supposed ringleader of the group, and Susana Zapana Hannover, the former member of The Church of Jesus Christ, as well as a cousin of the Encinas brothers. The families of these individuals considered them to have disappeared. The trial began soon after Ambassador Gelbard declared to officials of The Church of Jesus Christ during a Salt Lake visit that "I have made it crystal clear to the president of Bolivia that this is of the greatest importance to us and we want to bring this to the end of the investigation.". (105)
However, the trial progressed very slowly. The first judge assigned to the case, Nestor Loredo, resigned on October 4 as a consequence of anonymous telephoned death threats. (106) The second judge also resigned because he anticipated the trial to be thrown out of court for lack of evidence. (107) By February 8, 1990, the trial seemed to be entering into its final phases, when Judge David Rivas Gradin felt that the key testimonies of two women would enable him to reach a verdict. (108) However, after the resignation of the first two judges, Rivas ordered the five suspects-Yujra, the Encinas brothers, Dr. Rojas, and Simón (Tema?) Mamani-to remain in prison without bail. As a result, the prisoners protested their innocence, and began staging a hunger strike on March 31. Rivas (who was not allowed to rule on the case), along with the prosecuting attorney, José Rivero, sent a plea to the Justice Court of La Paz to appoint a new judge. However, according to a report by the U.S. State Department, "Patterns of Global Terrorism, 1990," a new judge had still not been appointed by the end of 1990. However, a judge was appointed in 1991, and by June the case was predicted to conclude sometime over that summer (winter in the southern hemisphere). (109)
Finally, on October 9, 1991, the U.S. State Department announced that the defendants had been sentenced to long prison terms. María Sanchez Carlos, head of the department's Bolivia desk wrote Senator Hatch, "There are eight defendants, three of whom are at large, and they got 30 years. The other five, who are currently in jail, got sentences from five to 20 years." The sentences were expected to be appealed to the Bolivia Supreme Court. (110)
Police continued to watch the homes of the remaining members of FAL Zarate Willka. On July 20, 1990, at about 6:45 a.m., a group of agents stopped a student, Juan Domingo Peralta, brother of Johnny Peralta, who was going to take a test at the local University. When Juan attempted to hide, the agents shot him. According to witnesses, after the act, a commander of the group realized, "it's not him, we were wrong." After abandoning the body, Juan's mother and sister took him to the Hospital Juan XXIII accompanied by one of the vigilant police officers, where he was refused medical attention, as police had ordered personnel to "not assist the terrorist." While the sister tried to get the order reversed, the mother watched her son die. (111)
As a result of this tragedy and a sickness sometime later, where he allegedly "thought he was dying," Johnny Peralta returned to his mother's home, where police promptly arrested him. Peralta later stated:
I think that my brother's death was a kind of message to me, a message that was expressed in the most crude, the most violent, the most bloody manner possible. I took that message from the embassy as a type of blackmail, pressure, and action with respect to my person. For me, the death of my brother meant that I had to give myself up at some point, I was a fugitive for three years. (112)
Johnny Peralta claimed, "I am politically responsible for the actions of Zarate Willka, beginning with the attack against the companies of multimillionaire Mario Mercado to the last attack" including the attack on former Secretary George Shultz, the attempted assassination of Ambassador Robert Gelbard, the bombing of the Bolivian Parliament building, and the murders of Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson. This action resulted in the suspension of the trial for the other five defendants. At the time, Judge German Urquiza had been scheduled to decide whether the defendants had been accessories to the shooting. Don LeFevre, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ, commended "the Bolivian authorities for their persistence in the pursuit of justice." (113)
Further Developments
Unfortunately, tragedy in South America did not end with the deaths of Elders Wilson and Ball. On August 22, 1990, at about 1:30 p.m., in Huancayo, Peru, members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) ambushed Elder Manuel Antonio Hidalgo of Arequipa, Peru and his companion Elder Cristian Andreani Ugarte of Trujillo, Peru, serving in the Peru Lima East Mission. The missionaries were apparently on their way to a lunch appointment. Both Elders were beaten, one was stabbed in the throat, and they were both shot once in the head. Their bodies were found with a sign saying, "This is how imperialists' supporters die." The First Presidency released a statement in which they expressed shock and sadness and "pray[ed] for an end to the hatred and misunderstanding which led to this tragedy." (114)
Following on the heels of this tragedy, Elder Oscar Zapata of Piura, Peru, who had been serving in the Peru Lima East Mission for just two weeks, was shot on March 6, 1991 after getting off a bus in the remote town of Tarma, Peru. No one saw where the shot came from that killed him. (115)
As a result of these shootings, North American missionaries were further reduced in Bolivia and Peru. According to Elder Thomas Vea, who served in the Cochabamba Bolivia Mission from March 1990 to March 1992, "90% of the missionaries were Bolivians" at this time, as no new American missionaries were called at this time and those few already in Bolivia completed their missions. (116) By 1993, all North American missionaries had been removed from these missions. Once the missionaries' safety in these areas was determined, they began returning about the Fall (Spring-Southern Hemisphere) of 1994. Because I arrived in Bolivia with the seventh group from this time in March 1995, I personally witnessed and marked this return. During the first year (September 1994-September 1995) in the Bolivia Cochabamba mission, only American Elders arrived, with the exception of two sisters who arrived with the third group. As I suppose, once these missionaries' safety had been reasonably ascertained, groups of American sisters arrived between October 1995 and March 1996. Following a few months when very few missionaries arrived, regular groups of Elders and Sisters began arriving in September 1996. As a result of this particular timing, the groups of sisters returned home concurrently with the second half of the first year of Elders, my group being the first one to be accompanied by a group of sisters in February 1997. By July 1997, less than three years after the return began, all of the initial American missionaries who had arrived in the first two years since the mission was reopened to Americans had returned home (with the exception of two Elders who had arrived in February 1996, and five who had arrived between June and August 1996). During this time, the ratio of Latin to North American missionaries was about 70/30; since that time, I understand that it has changed to about 50/50.
The circumstances surrounding the politically motivated assassinations of Elders Ball and Wilson affected people of many different groups. Missionaries at the time coped with their grief. Many American missionaries finished their missions outside of Latin America, giving many Latins the opportunity to learn to operate The Church of Jesus Christ independent of Americans, skills which the missionaries could later apply in their wards and stakes. In the mid-1990s, the American missionaries who were the first to return and their native counterparts were effectively pioneers, as both groups learned to readjust to different cultures. The event shocked and saddened many Bolivians, and doors were opened to the preaching of the gospel that might otherwise have remained closed. Government officials of both the United States and Bolivia employed their resources in bringing the assassins to justice. The accused assassins suffered great depravations to their persons and families, including the murder of a brother. (117) The general membership of The Church of Jesus Christ was saddened by their death, and the small communities of Coalville and Wellington were especially shocked. Their parents and siblings learned to deal with the absence of their brothers and sons, though, as one sister of Elder Wilson expressed over ten years later, "It is something you never forget." (118)
Yet despite the sorrow and grieving, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has continued to "roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth" (Doctrine and Covenants 65:2). Membership in Bolivia alone has nearly tripled from 40,000 to 120,000 in the twelve years since the assassinations. (119) As the prophet Joseph Smith declared, "persecutions may rage . . . but the truth of God will go forth . . . till . . . the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." (120)
Blackburn, Chris, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001.
Claycomb, Tracy, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001.
Colton, Paul, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001.
__________, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001.
Egbert, Lon, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 18, 2001.
Florman, Lynn (Skie), "Re: Bolivian Missionaries," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001.
Florman, Lynn (Skie), "Re: Bolivian Missionaries," E-mail to the author, March 19, 2001.
Futch, Sheri (Dimter), "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, April 3, 2001.
Gonzalez, Edward, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001.
Hudson, Tim, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001.
Manwaring, Kenna (Anderson), "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 30, 2001.
Manwaring, Kenna (Anderson), "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 30, 2001.
Mylroie, V. Shane, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001.
Mylroie, V. Shane, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 15, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Buscando Información," E-mail to 8 addresses, March 13, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Looking for Information," E-mail to 57 addresses, March 13, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Chris Blackburn, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Tracy Claycomb, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Paul Colton, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Lon Egbert, March 20, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Bolivian Missionaries," E-mail to Lynn (Skie) Florman, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Bolivian Missionaries," E-mail to Lynn (Skie) Florman, March 20, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Bolivian Missionaries," E-mail to Sheri (Dimter) Futch, March 20, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Edward Gonzalez, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Tim Hudson, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Kenna (Anderson) Manwaring, March 30, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to V. Shane Mylroie, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to Ryan Young, March 14, 2001.
Reeder, Ryan, "Re: ," E-mail to Ryan Young, March 20, 2001.
Young, Ryan, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001.
Young, Ryan, [no subject], E-mail to the author, March 19, 2001.
Young, Ryan, [no subject], E-mail to the author, March 21, 2001.
Oral Interview
Mondaca, Omar, February 11, 1996, conversation with the author, Cochabamba, Bolivia, included in Ryan Reeder, Missionary Journal, February 13, 1996, 69.
Secondary Sources
Allen, James B. and Glen B. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992, 397.
Deseret News Church Almanac, 1989-1990, Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 1988.
Deseret News Church Almanac 2001-2002, Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 2000.
Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The, Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981.
Driggs, Ken, Evil Among Us: The Texas Mormon Missionary Murders, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2000.
Roberts, B. H., A Comprehensive History of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vol. 5, Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1930.
Roberts, B. H., A Comprehensive History of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vol. 6, Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1930.
Truman Madsen, Defender of the Faith: The B. H. Roberts Story, Salt Lake City, Utah : Bookcraft, 1980.
Smith, Joseph Jr., History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1980.
Smith, Joseph Fielding, Essentials in Church History, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1967.
Appendix
E-mail used to solicit information from former Bolivia La Paz missionaries
Hello. My name is Ryan Reeder. I found your name at the Missionary Alumni Database section of the "Bolivia LDS Mission Page"( http://www.inconnect.com/bolivia). I served in the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission between 1995 and 1997. Currently I am a senior graduating in history at Brigham Young University.
For one of my classes, I am working on a project about the assassinations of Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson on May 24, 1989. Based on the dates you served that I found at the mission web site, I understand that you were serving in the Bolivia La Paz mission under President Steven Wright when Elders Wilson and Ball were killed. I realize that even after nearly twelve years have gone by, this may still be a sensitive topic. I respect that.
I am looking for any information you might have or be aware of concerning what took place. Do you know any details of what happened that night? Do you know people that do? I understand that there were two other missionaries living in the apartment when Elders Ball and Wilson returned that night. Do you know who they were? How did news of the assassinations affect you? How did you hear about it? How well did you know Elders Wilson and Ball? Did you work with them? Were you a former companion? Is there anything you could share with me about them?
How were American missionaries withdrawn from the country? I understand that it was originally reduced to a 30/70 ratio; then American missionaries were totally removed from Bolivia and Peru for several years. I arrived six months after the first American missionaries returned to Bolivia, and throughout my mission, American missionaries were again at a 30/70 ratio. Were you involved when missionaries were removed from the area? What happened? How did it affect you?
Did you hear anything about the trial of the Zarate Willka Revolutionary group members? Do you have any newspaper articles from Bolivia concerning the assassination or the trial? Do you know people that do? What was the reaction in the press? Was it heavily reported, or generally ignored? What was the public reaction? How did it affect the members in Bolivia? Investigators? Other people you met? Do you know about the United States involvement with the FBI investigation? Are you aware of other terrorist activity that took place at this time, such as the Hamacas chapel bombing in Santa Cruz? Was anti-American sentiment general, or limited to just a few fringe group organizations? Is there any other information you might have?
I very much appreciate your help. Without it, I am limited to Utah newspapers for information. Anything you could tell me would be very much appreciated. Please indicate if you would like me to use your name to document your information, or if you would prefer to remain anonymous. Again, thank you very much for your help.
1. Spencer W. Kimball, "The Uttermost Parts of the Earth," Ensign, July 1979, 2; Joseph Smith, Jr, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vol. 4, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1980, 540.
2. James B. Allen and Glen B. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992, 397.
3. Ibid., 397; Truman Madsen, Defender of the Faith: The B. H. Roberts Story, Salt Lake City, Utah : Bookcraft, 1980, 143-154.
4. Ken Driggs, Evil Among Us: The Texas Mormon Missionary Murders, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2000.
5. "2 Missionaries are Found Dead," Church News, December 22, 1979, 12.
6. Chris Jorgensen, "Persecution of Mormon Missionaries Becomes Violent," Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1991, A3.
7. JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells and Jerry Spangler, "2 LDS Missionaries Assassinated in Bolivia," Deseret News, May 25, 1989, A1.; "2 Missionaries Killed in Peru," Deseret News, August 23, 1990, B1.; "Shooting Claims Peruvian LDS Missionary," Deseret News, March 14, 1991, B2.
8. "Missionary Slain in Knife Attack in Ireland," Church News, June 2, 1990, 3.
9. "LDS Missionary Slain in Russia," Deseret News, October 18, 1998, A1
10. Marianne Funk, "Elder Wilson is Praised for Giving Ultimate Sacrifice in City of Peace," Deseret News, May 31, 1989, A1; Gerry Avant, "Elder Wilson 'Worthy of God's Best' Church News, June 3, 1989, 3. In this statement delivered at the Funeral of Elder Todd Ray Wilson, President Gordon B. Hinckley applied his remarks specifically to Elders Wilson and Ball. Its sentiments, however, can be assumed to apply to all faithful assassinated missionaries.
11. JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells and Jerry Spangler, "2 LDS Missionaries Assassinated in Bolivia," Deseret News, May 25, 1989, A1.
12. "Team Honors Slain Elder: Utah Central Area," Church News, November 25, 1989, 7.
13. JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells and Arva Smith,"Anguished Families and Friends of Slain Missionaries ask 'Why?'Deseret News, May 26, 1989, A1.
14. JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells, "2 Slain LDS Missionaries Have 'Gone Home to God'," Deseret News, May 31, 1989, A1.
22. David Knowlton, "Missionaries and Terror," 12; "Relación de los Hechos"; JoAnn Jacobsen Wells, "2 LDS Missionaries"; Lee Davidson, "Were Slayings Really by Leftist Terrorists?," Deseret News, May 26, 1989, A1; "2 Suspected of Killing Missionaries Sought," Deseret News, July 1, 1989, A1; "Bolivia Arrests 2 Sought in Deaths of 2 Missionaries," Deseret News, July 2, 1989, A1; "Two Suspects Arrested in Missionary Killings," Church News, July 8, 1989, 4; "FBI, Bolivia Still Searching for Killers of Missionaries," Deseret News, October 3, 1989, A2; "Bolivia Trial Nears Conclusion in Slaying of 2 Missionaries," Deseret News, February 9, 1990, A3;"FBI Agent Honored for His Role in Bolivian Probe," Deseret News, April 6, 1990, D8; Lee Davidson, "Death Threats Slow Murder Trial in Bolivia," Deseret News, June 2, 1991, A1; "Long Prison Terms Given to Killers of 2 Missionaries," Deseret News, October 11, 1991, B1; "Terrorist Takes the Blame for '89 Killings," Deseret News, July 21, 1992, A1; Michael Phillips, "Bolivia Arrests Rebel."
24. Lynn (Skie) Florman, "Bolivian Missionaries," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001. Comments from former missionaries are a result of a solicitation to 62 E-mail addresses. A copy of the E-mail sent out is included at the end of this paper as an appendix.
26. Derechos-Human Rights, Equipo Nizkor, "Relación de los Hechos," (April 3, 2000).
27. Paul Colton, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001.
28. Sheri (Dimter) Futch, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, April 3, 2001.
29. Omar Mondaca, resident of Cochabamba, Bolivia and former missionary in La Paz, Bolivia at the time of the assassinations, 11 February 1996, conversation with the author, Cochabamba, Bolivia, included in Ryan Reeder, Missionary Journal, February 13, 1996, 69.
30. Ryan Young, "Reply: ," E-mail to the author, March 19, 2001.
31. Ryan Young and Omar Mondaca have conflicting reports. Ryan Young writes that Elder Wilson died instantly, while Omar Mondaca informed me that Elder Wilson died in the ambulance. The day I spoke with him, we talked with a man whose wife, Mondaca later said, was a nurse in the ambulance when Elder Wilson passed away.
32. Paul Colton, E-mail to the author; Tracy Claycomb, "Re: Looking for information," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001; Chris Blackburn, "Re: Looking for information," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001; Victor Shane Mylroie, "Re: Looking for information," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001; Lon Egbert, "Re: Looking for information," E-mail to the author, March 18, 2001, Kenna (Anderson) Manwaring, "Re: Looking for information," E-mail to the author, March 30, 2001.
33. Paul Colton, E-mail to the author, Tracy Claycomb, E-mail to the author.
34. Lee Davidson, "Bolivian Government Shocked by Slayings," Deseret News May 31, 1989, A2; JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells, "2 LDS Missionaries"; Michael Phillips, "Bolivia Arrests Rebel in '89 Murder of 2 LDS Missionaries," Salt Lake Tribune, July 21, 1992, A1. Translation theirs.
39. Lynn (Skie) Florman, "Bolivian Missionaries," E-mail to the author, March 14, 2001.
40. David Knowlton, "Missionaries and Terror," 12; Lee Davidson, "Leftist Terrorists?"; Lee Davidson, "FBI Sent to Bolivia to Probe Slayings," Deseret News, May 30, 1989, A1; Lee Davidson, "Bolivian Government"; "U.S. Offering $500,000 for Missionaries' Killers, Deseret News, June 17, 1989, B1; "Bolivia Arrests 2"; "FBI Agent Honored"; "FBI, Bolivia Still Searching," Jerry Spangler, "Missionaries Resolve"; Michael Phillips, "Bolivia Arrests Rebel"; Sheri (Dimter) Futch, E-mail to the author; Lynn (Skie) Florman, E-mail to the author.
41. David Knowlton, "Missionaries and Terror," 12; "2 Suspected of Killing"
42. "Bolivia Arrests 2." In 1967 Cuba sponsored an attempted revolution in Bolivia led by folk hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Guevara was later hunted down and killed.
43. "FBI, Bolivia Still Searching;" "Bolivia Arrests 2"; Lee Davidson, "Death Threats Slow Murder Trial in Bolivia," Deseret News, June 2, 1991, A1. It's interesting to note that Elder Wilson used these same elections to write letters to each of his eight siblings. These letters were the last they ever received from him.
44. David Knowlton, "Missionaries and Terror," 13.
62. JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells, " Missionaries Have 'Gone Home to God'," Deseret News, May 31, 1989, A1.
63. Cathy Kelly, "Bodies of Slain Missionaries are Flown Home from Bolivia," Deseret News May 29, 1989, A1; "Sadness Marks Missionaries 'Homecoming',"Church News, June 3, 1989, 4.
64. John Hart, "Church Leaders Eulogize Slain Elders," Church News, 3.
65. Gerry Avant, "Elder Wilson 'Worthy of God's Best'," Church News, 3.
74. "Memorial Service is Held in La Paz for 2 Slain Elders," Deseret News, May 29, 1989, A2; "Bolivians Express Love for Missionaries," Church News, June 3, 1989.
75. M. Russell Ballard, "Duties, Rewards, and Risks," Ensign, Nov. 1989, 33 or Conference Report October 1989, 41.
76. "Missionaries Still in Rooms," Deseret News, May 30, 1989, B1; Cathy Kelly, "Bodies"; Ryan Young; Kenna (Anderson) Manwaring.
77. Kenna (Anderson) Manwaring, E-mail to the author.
78. "'Wisely, Cautiously' Missionary Work Proceeds in Bolivia," Church News, June 24, 1989, 5.
85. Kenna (Anderson) Manwaring, E-mail to the author.
86. Marianne Funk, "LDS Church Counsels Missionaries in Bolivia on Safety Precautions," Deseret News, June 21, 1989, B1; "'Wisely, Cautiously'."
87. Tracy Claycomb, E-mail to the author. Incidentally, Omar Mondaca reported being one of the first missionaries to return to the Villa Victoria ward when it was reopened.
88. David Knowlton, "Missionaries and Terror," 15; This incident occurred while David Knowlton was serving in the La Paz mission. Information on his dates of service obtained from Eric Huber, "Bolivia LDS Mission Page," April 4, 2001, .
89. Kenna (Anderson) Manwaring, E-mail to the author.
90. Paul Colton, E-mail to the author; Brian T. West, "LDS Church Reassigning Missionaries, Deseret News, July 12, 1989, A1. President Birnbaumer would later serve as President of the La Paz Bolivia Mission from 1993-1996 as American missionaries returned to Bolivia.
91. Edward Gonzalez, "Re: Looking for Information," E-mail to the author, March 13, 2001.
96. Lee Davidson, "FBI Sent to Bolivia to Probe Slayings," Deseret News, May 30, 1989, A1.
97. Lee Davidson, "FBI Sent to Bolivia"; "FBI Agent Honored." Agent McPheters, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ who had himself been a missionary in Paraguay and Uruguay from 1965-1967, volunteered to go. His son, Shad, was at that time serving in Bolivia's other mission in Cochabamba. McPheters was later awarded with the Bolivian National Medal of Honor and a formal commendation from FBI director William Sessions.
98. "U.S. Offering $500,000"; "'Wisely, Cautiously,'"; "Bolivia Arrests 2"; "Two Suspects Arrested"; Michael Phillips, "Bolivia Arrests Rebel"; Lee Davidson, "Bolivian Government Shocked."
113. "Terrorist Takes the Blame for '89 Killings," Deseret News, July 21, 1992; Michael Phillips, "Bolivia Arrests Rebel."
114. "2 Missionaries Killed in Peru," Deseret News, August 23, 1990, B1; Sheila Sanchez, "2 Missionaries Shot by Rebels, Police Say," Deseret News, August 24, 1990, B1; "Gunmen Shoot, Kill Two Peruvian Missionaries," Church News, August 25, 1990, 4; "Peru Missionaries 'Eager to Continue'" Church News, September 15, 1990, 3.
119. Deseret News Church Almanac, 1989-1990. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 1988, 113; Deseret News Church Almanac 2001-2002, Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 2000, 282.
An accused terrorist told reporters he was "politically responsible" for the 1989 shooting of two U.S. LDS missionaries, throwing the trial of five other alleged guerrillas into suspension Tuesday.
Judge German Urquiza had been scheduled to decide Monday afternoon if the five prisoners, who have been held for three years, were guilty of acting as accesories in the shooting.
But the comments of Jhonny Peralta Espinoza, who was arrested Sunday morning in La Paz after eluding authorities for three years, appear to have been enough to prompt the judge to call yet another halt in the slow trial of the five prisoners.
Peralta told reporters late Monday he took "responsibility for all the actions of the Zarate Willka Armed Liberation Forces."
Reciting a list of those "actions," Peralta mentioned a failed bombing attempt in 1988 against former Secretary of State George Shultz, an attack on the former U.S. ambassador and the fatal shooting of Mormon missionaries Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson.
"I am politically responsible for the actions of Zarate Willka, beginning with the attack against the companies of multimillionaire Mario Mercado to the last attack," which police say was the bombing of the Bolivian congress.
Peralta, who was proclaimed an outlaw along with two other alleged leaders of the guerrilla group two years ago, has been consistently accused by authorities of directing the illegal organization.
Ball and Wilson were killed the night of May 24, 1989, as they returned to their La Paz apartment.
Though Peralta told reporters Monday he was just "a member" of the group, the judge overseeing the trial of five other alleged members of the organization told United Press International he was one of the "principals" of the band.
Judge Urquiza was expected to interrogate Peralta before proceeding with the trial of the other five suspects.
10/11/1991 . . . LONG PRISON TERMS GIVEN TO KILLERS OF 2 MISSIONARIES
Terrorists convicted of murdering two LDS Church missionaries in Bolivia in 1989 were sentenced to long prison terms on Friday, the U.S. State Department announced.
"There are eight defendants, three of whom are at large, and they got 30 years. The other five, who are currently in jail, got sentences from five to 20 years," Maria Sanchez Carlos, head of the department's Bolivia desk, wrote in a memo to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
The note added the sentences will be appealed to the Bolivia Supreme Court, and that more details about the sentences and trial were expected later in the day.
Those convicted are members of the Zarate Willka terrorist group, and were also accused of bombing a motorcade of former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz in 1988.
Elders Jeffrey Ball, 20, of Coalville and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, of Wellington, Carbon County, missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were shot by the group as they returned to their apartment in La Paz on May 24, 1989.
06/02/1991 . . . DEATH THREATS SLOW MURDER TRIAL IN BOLIVIA
Death threats to judges and prosecutors and anti-U.S. sentiment have greatly slowed a trial for five people accused of the 1989 terrorist murders of two LDS Church missionaries in Bolivia.
In fact, a new report on global terrorism by the U.S. State Department said, "Virtually no progress was made (during 1990) in the prosecution of Zarate Willka (a terrorist group) members charged with the 1989 murder of two U.S. Mormon missionaries."
The report, "Patterns of Global Terrorism 1990," which was released recently, added, "The government changed prosecutors five times and had not named a judge to hear the case by year's end."
Sources in Washington said, however, that a judge was named this year, the case appears now to be progressing well, the case is in its final phases and it could conclude sometime this summer.
They said past problems included death threats against judges - causing them to resign from the case - which sources felt may have come in part because of criticism of the case in the Bolivian press, which they say tends to be anti-U.S. and leftist.
State Department sources would say officially only that they have kept close watch on the case, and that an FBI agent is now in Bolivia full-time temporarily to assist and encourage continuing investigations in that and other terrorism cases involving attacks on Americans.
The trial has proceeded for more than 18 months for members of Zarate Willka accused of killing Elders Jeffrey Ball, 20, of Coalville and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, of Wellington. The missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were shot as they returned to their apartment in La Paz on May 24, 1989.
Sources in Washington that recently returned from Bolivia said trials there are essentially long investigative proceedings with a judge acting as his own investigator, reviewing reports from prosecutors and allowing defense attorneys to rebut in attempts to reconstruct what happened.
They said all the evidence in the case has been submitted, so the final stage of the case is coming. They said prosecutors are also confident of a conviction.
Previous wire service reports from Bolivia have identified four of the five people on trial - and held in jail pending its outcome - as Constantino Yujra, Nelson Encinas, Simon Mamani and Gabriel Rojas. The five on trial are described as four students and a medical doctor.
Wire services have said student groups have protested their incarceration, saying they should be treated as innocent because of a lack of evidence against them.
Wire services have also said three other suspects - Justino Peralta, Victor E. Prieto and Susana Zapana Hannover - were also indicted in the case but remain fugitives.
State Department documents have described the "Armed Liberation Forces Zarate Willka" as being formed "by various leftist extremists, some of whom may be students at the University of San Andres in La Paz. The group is urban based and anti-U.S."
Documents said its strength is "unknown, probably relatively small." It added the group "claims to fight for the rights of the poor and against perceived U.S. interventionism in Bolivia."
Among the group's other terrorist activities include "exploded bomb along route of (former) U.S. Secretary of State (George) Shultz's motorcade in La Paz in August 1988" and "claimed responsibility for bombing on 20 December 1989 at U.S. Embassy after U.S. military actions in Panama."
03/26/1991 . . . WERE TERRORIST ATTACKS RELATED TO THE GULF WAR?
They may never have been thought of before as victims of the Persian Gulf war. But LDS missionaries slain in Peru and 17 chapels bombed there this year may be indirect war casualties.
At least the U.S. State Department told the office of Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, that many such attacks in Peru result from terrorist groups - who view the LDS Church as a symbol of U.S. "imperialism" - protesting U.S. leadership of the war, said Laurie Snow-Turner, Garn's press secretary.
A missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Oscar Zapata, 20, a native of Piura, Peru, was shot and killed March 6 in Tarma, Peru. State Department officials do not know if war protests were a factor in that slaying.Also, on Aug. 22 as the United States was building up forces in the Persian Gulf, two other native Peruvian LDS missionaries - Elders Manuel Hidalgo, 22, and Christian Ugarte, 21 - were slain in Batanyaqui. A sign left by ttheir bodies said in Spanish, "This is how imperialists' supporters die."
Snow-Turner said the State Department told Garn's office that at least 17 LDS chapels in Peru have been bombed since the war began by terrorist groups apparently protesting it by hitting what they consider to be U.S. targets - even though the church stresses it is a worldwide, non-political organization.
The State Department also provided a translation of a flier distributed by one of those groups claiming responsibility for such attacks, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (whose members are alleged to have killed Hidalgo and Ugarte).
It said that group's "anti-imperialist campaign against the establishments and premises of North American interests" attacked the church in reprisal "for one of the most bloody and inhumane wars by which Yankee imperialism displays its contempt for Iraq and all the Arab peoples."
The flier also charged the United States waged war "without importance to the lives of the civilian population and solely to control the petroleum supplies and fix the world price of crude oil at a level in keeping with its interests."
The flier also warned, "There will be no peace for the Yankee imperialists. With the masses and arms fatherland or death, we shall win."
State Department and other congressional sources have also said many of the same groups are upset with the United States over anti-cocaine activities.
State Department documents have also given some background about the major terrorist groups that have attacked LDS targets in Peru.
It describes the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, often known by the acronym MRTA for the initials in its Spanish title, as a "Marxist-Leninist terrorist group formed in 1983, chiefly urban based, led by Nestor Serpa. (Its) objective is to rid Peru of "imperialist' influence and to establish Marxist regime."
The State Department estimates its strength at "several hundred." It has links to other terrorist groups including M-19 in Colombia and Alfaro Vive, Carajo! in Ecuador. It has received training in Cuba.
State Department reports say the group's activities are "often directed against U.S. and other foreign targets."
Another Peruvian group that has threatened LDS targets is the Sendero Luminoso, or "Shining Path."
State Department documents describe it as an "extremely dangerous and unpredictable terrorist" group formed in the 1960s as an Indian-based rural insurgent organization.
Its "declared aim is to destroy existing Peruvian institutions and replace them with an Indian-based peasant revolutionary regime. Xenophobic (or distrustful of outside influences) in the extreme, criticizes the USSR and China as well as the United States," State Department reports say.
Its strength is estimated at between 4,000-5,000 combatants. It has no known foreign sponsors.
Reports said its activities include intimidating the populace by executing civilians with government ties. "Starting in 1986, however, turned increasingly to urban terrorism." It killed several foreigners in 1989, and has attacked U.S., Soviet, Chinese and domestic targets.
A missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was killed in a March 6 shooting incident in Peru, a church spokesman said Thursday.
The death marks the third in six months among Peruvian natives serving LDS missions in their own country and the fifth missionary killed in Latin America in the past two years.
Oscar Zapata, 20, a native of Piura, Peru, was shot soon after getting off a bus in the remote mountain town of Tarma. He was with another missionary, also a Peruvian, at the time of the shooting, according to local police, and had been serving in the Peru Lima East Mission just two weeks at the time of his death.
Church spokesman L. Don LeFevre said the release of information about the shooting death was delayed because of the time involved with getting information out of the remote area.
There are no suspects or other information about the shooting, he said. No one saw where the shot came from, and police in Peru have been questioning residents of nearby buildings, a church news release said.
Two other Peruvians serving LDS missions in their home country were killed Aug. 22 about 125 miles east of Lima by guerrilla terrorists, who beat the pair and stabbed one before shooting both of them once in the head.
The gunmen left a sign next to the bodies of those missionaries accusing the pair of being imperialists' supporters.
On May 24, 1989, Utah missionaries Jeffery Brent Ball, of Coalville, and Todd Ray Wilson, of Wellington, were killed by gunmen outside the front door of their apartment in La Paz, Bolivia.
12/31/1990 . . . TROOP CALL-UP VOTED TOP '90 STORY IN UTAH
10. The LDS Church grows worldwide and remains victim of violence in South America.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened eight new missions, including three in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary, which were previously closed to proselyting. The church also added 11 new positions to its ranks of general authorities.
Violence against the church continued, however, in South America, where two missionaries, Manuel Antonio Hidalgo, 22, and Christian Andreani Ugarte, 21, both of Peru, were gunned down Aug. 22 in Huancayo, Peru.
09/15/1990 . . . PERU MISSIONARIES `EAGER TO CONTINUE'
Missionaries in Peru are eager to continue their work of successfully sharing the gospel with Peruvians, despite a recent incident in which two missionaries were killed, according to Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of the Twelve.
Elder Ballard was in Peru from Aug. 27-31, following the shooting deaths of two missionaries. He visited three cities where he met with most of Peru's missionaries and stake presidents.
A member of the Missionary Executive Council, Elder Ballard was accompanied by Elder Angel Abrea of the Missionary Department, and Elder Charles Didier and Elder Hartman Rector Jr. of the South America North Area presidency.
"We feel the missionaries can continue their service safely under security guidelines as they are doing in Bolivia and in other parts of Latin America," said Elder Ballard.
"Both the North American and Peruvian missionaries want to continue the work," said Elder Abrea. "They really have a testimony that the Lord will be with them, and they will keep on working."
In the meetings, Elder Ballard assured missionaries and members of the love and prayers of the Brethren and the Church, and issued directives for the best possible security for missionaries serving in that country. Videos of the meetings were sent to all missionaries who could not attend the meetings because of distance.
During the visit, the General Authorities met with the families of Elders Christian Andreani Ugarte and Manuel Antonio Hidalgo who died at the hands of gunmen on Aug. 22.
"We extended the love of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, all the General Authorities, and the membership of the Church," said Elder Ballard.
He noted that the Ugarte and Hidalgo families attended the missionary meetings. Elder Ugarte's father, Justo Tito Ugarte, spoke at one meeting and said that the Lord has brought peace to his family. "He said he knew his son is doing the work of the Lord on the other side. He encouraged other missionaries not to fear, and not to give up because of this unfortunate incident in the quest to take the gospel to the honest in heart in Peru."
Elder Ballard added that a son and daughter of the Ugarte family are preparing to serve missions in the near future.
The parents of Elder Hidalgo, who have been members just a few months, expressed a similar feeling. In a letter to President Ezra Taft Benson, Brother Hidalgo wrote:
"With profound sadness we received word of the death of our son, Manuco, as he was called when he was at home. We know that this separation is temporary and that we will soon be reunited with him for all eternity, since we have set a goal to go to the Lima Peru Temple to be sealed as a family this January.
"Our Father in Heaven wanted to have him at His side to continue as a missionary preaching His gospel in the spirit world, and we understand that, and feel joy and gladness that he is continuing his work.
"Moreover, nothing or no one can stop my wife and I - when the time comes - from being ready for a call from the Lord to follow our son's example in going forward to preach the gospel and save souls."
At the missionary meetings, which were held in Lima, Trujillo and Arequipa, Elder Ballard and the other leaders outlined again missionary security procedures and guidelines and "refreshed their memories on those security guidelines that were given earlier."
Every missionary proselyting area was carefully reviewed by the area presidency, the mission president and the stake president to be certain it was a safe location, he said.
"We encouraged the stake presidents to be sure that the bishops and ward mission leaders know where their missionaries are, and that they give support and help, and watch over and shepherd the missionaries," said Elder Ballard.
"We are doing and will continue to do all within our power to reduce any risks that could harm the missionaries. However, in today's world of violence, the Church cannot eliminate all risk nor guarantee absolutely that a missionary never will be ill, or injured, or harmed.
"We're trying the best we know how to ensure the safety of all missionaries wherever they are laboring. We are as concerned for the welfare and protection of the Latin missionaries as we are the North American missionaries. We have the same concerns all over the world. Today, Satan is stirring in the hearts of wicked men and women all over the world."
He said the missionaries "love and care deeply about the people they are serving, and want to continue in the service of the Lord. These dedicated missionaries illustrate so powerfully to the rest of us that "there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear." (1 John. 4:18.)
Elder Ballard compared the missionary force of 43,000 to a city of the same size, which would have far more problems on a daily basis.
"It's obvious that the Lord has His arms around His Church, and His arms around His missionaries and He's watching out for them. But we still can't assure that someone won't get hurt."
Elder Abrea said that stake presidents told him that "we know that this is a very difficult time we are living in, but to have Elder Ballard here and to know that the First Presidency is praying for us reassures us about the Church and our testimonies."
The Church leaders also said that an emergency fund has been established for the stake presidents in Peru to assist families who are having economic difficulties. Stake presidents expressed their gratitude to the faithful saints that pay fast offering for this help.
A national austerity plan imposed Aug. 10 by the Peruvian government to halt steep inflation brought sharp increases in prices.
08/25/1990 . . . GUNMEN SHOOT, KILL TWO PERUVIAN MISSIONARIES
Two missionaries, both natives of Peru, were shot to death Wednesday, Aug. 22, about 1:30 p.m. in the outskirts of Huancayo, Peru, approximately 150 miles southeast of Lima, Peru.
The tragedy was reported to Church headquarters in Salt Lake City by Pres. Juan Angel Alvaradejo of the Peru Lima East Mission.
The mission president identified the victims as Elder Manuel Antonio Hidalgo, 22, of Arequipa, Peru, and Elder Christian Andreani Ugarte, 21, of Trujillo, Peru.
"We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy," the First Presidency said in a statement Aug. 23. "We express our deepest sympathy to the parents and families of the two martyrs.
"Elder Hidalgo and Elder Ugarte were ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and they were sharing His message of love and brotherhood with their fellow citizens of Peru. They and their fellow missionaries are sent into the world solely to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and have no political agenda or association of any kind.
"We pray for an end to the hatred and misunderstanding which led to this tragedy."
The First Presidency said Church authorities were monitoring conditions and taking every precaution to ensure the safety of other missionaries.
Elder Hidalgo and Elder Ugarte were reportedly going to the home of members for lunch when gunmen alighted from a car and shot them with pistols. Details of the tragedy were sketchy as police launched their investigation.
Elder Hidalgo was the son of Manuel Francisco Hidalgo and Virginia Pella de Hidalgo. He had served as a missionary since April 27. Elder Ugarte was the son of Justo Tito Ugarte and Gladys Ines Ayaviri de Ugarte. He had served as a missionary since Sept. 8, 1988, and would have completed his mission in early September.
08/24/1990 . . . 2 MISSIONARIES SHOT BY REBELS, POLICE SAY
Two Peruvian LDS missionaries killed Wednesday were shot by four alleged members of the The Tupac Amaru Revolutionary movement, Peruvian police reported Thursday.
Authorities in Huancayo, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said both missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were killed in Batanyacui, in the district of El Tambo, about 125 miles east of Lima.
Elder Manuel Antonio Hidalgo, 22, of Arequipa, Peru, and Elder Christian Andreani Ugarte, 21, of Trujillo, Peru, were shot at 1:30 p.m. by gunmen who ambushed them after hiding in trees, police said.
During the scuffle, both elders were beaten, one was stabbed in the throat and they were each shot once in the head.
According to Mission President Juan Angel Alvaradejo, of the Peru, Lima East Mission, the missionaries were going to a boarding house where several missionaries eat.
In a statement released Thursday, the church's First Presidency said, "We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy. We express our deepest sympathy to the parents and families of the two martyrs."
Church officials said missionaries serving throughout the world are sent to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and have no political agenda.
"We pray for an end to the hatred and misunderstanding which led to this tragedy."
Peruvian police also reported that early Thursday morning, Andres Porra Gaspar a farm worker believed to be a member of the LDS Church, also was killed by gunmen who ambushed him in his home and shot him once in the head.The terrorists left a sign next to the bodies of the missionaries that said in Spanish, "Asi mueren los que apoyan a los imperialistas" (This is how imperialists' supporters die), police said.
Huancayo Police officials said similar messages have been left in the past when terrorists have killed police officers, except that they say, "Asi mueren los perros del gobierno" (This is how the government dogs die).
Efrain Gamarra, father of Stake President Cesar Gamarra, who leads the Arequipa Stake, and who personally knew Elder Hidalgo, said most members in Peru believe the missionaries were killed by subversive terrorists who hide in the mountains of Peru.
State department officials told staff of Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah, that they had received earlier reports that some LDS businessmen in Peru had felt threatened by violent groups.
They said an American Jewish businessman had his business bombed. "So whether the problem was anti-Mormon, anti-religious or anti-American, no one seems to know," said Art Kingdom, press secretary to Owens.
Gamarra said Hidalgo was a faithful member of the Manuel Prado Ward, in Arequipa.
"He was an excellent boy. We all loved him very much," Gamarra said. "He was serving his church diligently. He voluntarily fulfilled his mission. All the members are saddened by this tragedy. This has caused a terrible commotion because we loved him so much."
Before beginning his mission, Elder Hidalgo attended Universidad de San Agustin, in Arequipa, where he studied marketing. Elder Hidalgo had served since April 27.
Elder Ugarte, a district leader, would have completed his mission next month. Before his mission, he was studying to be an electrician, in Trujillo.
President Jose Andres Neyra, of the Trujillo Stake, said Ugarte's mother, Gladys Ines Ayaviri de Ugarte, had premonitions that her son was going to be killed on his mission.
"She knew this was going to happen," Neyra said. "His mother two nights ago had a dream that her son wasn't going to come back from his mission. So when we called, she knew."
Alvaradejo said both bodies were flown to Trujillo and Arequipa, where family members and friends will now plan their funerals for Friday or Saturday.
"Both missionaries were well-liked by the people. They worked very hard." Alvaradejo said. "We really are shocked at what's happened. It's unfortunate . . . This is sad particularly because we have had a fair amount of success in the mission and this is part of the opposition."
Alvaradejo said all 200 missionaries in the Peru Lima East Mission have been brought in from the smaller towns to work in the city. About 35 are Americans, he said.
Alvaradejo said Peruvian authorities are taking extreme safety precautions to protect the other missionaries. He said all missionaries in the country have been ordered to remain indoors.
Two Peruvian missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were shot and killed Wednesday outside of Huancayo, Peru.
Mission President Juan Angel Alvaradejo said Elder Manuel Antonio Hidalgo, 22, of Arequipa, Peru, and Elder Christian Andreani Ugarte, 21, of Trujillo, Peru, were shot at 1:30 p.m. by gunmen who got out of a car. The missionaries reportedly were going to a church member's home for lunch.
A church spokesman in Salt Lake City said authorities are monitoring conditions and taking safety precautions to protect the other missionaries in Peru.
Hidalgo had served since April 27. His companion, Ugarte, would have completed his mission next month.
Details of the shooting were sketchy, church officials said.
"We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy," the First Presidency said in a statement released Thursday. "We express our deepest sympathy to the parents and families of the two martyrs."
Church officials said that missionaries serving throughout the world are sent to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and have no political agenda.
"We pray for an end to the hatred and misunderstanding which led to this tragedy."
04/06/1990 . . . FBI AGENT HONORED FOR HIS ROLE IN BOLIVIA PROBE
An FBI agent based in Pendleton has been honored by the agency's director and the Bolivian government for his role in an investigation into the slayings of two Mormon missionaries.
Mike McPheters was awarded the Bolivian National Medal of Honor for the May 1989 investigation into the Zarate Willka terrorist group, which is blamed for the missionary slayings and for the attempted assassination of former Secretary of State George Schultz.
Last week, as a follow-up to the Bolivian award, McPheters received a formal commendation from William Sessions, director of the FBI.
McPheters spent three weeks in Bolivia after learning May 2, 1989, that two young Mormon men had been shot to death as they entered the courtyard to their apartment in a poverty-ridden area of Lapaz.
McPheters, a former Mormon missionary, volunteered to go to Bolivia because his son, Shad, a 1987 graduate of Pendleton High School, was serving as a church missionary in Lapaz in a section known as Cochabomba.
McPheters said his son was a zone leader, supervising 16 other missionaries in the northernmost corner of Bolivia.
At one point during a series of attacks on churches and Americans, his son rode a motorcycle through the jungle to round up fellow missionaries. He led them across the Mamore River into Brazil and "literally hid out" for three days until the violence subsided, McPheters said.
McPheters said the investigation was a great challenge because of the different culture, the weather, the 12,000-foot altitude and an ill-equipped Bolivian National Police force.
"The only big case they'd ever had was when terrorists tried to kill George Schultz," McPheters said. "They had one microscope that looked like it came from a high school biology class about 20 years ago. They didn't have cars and they didn't have many guns either."
McPheters said the FBI provided the necessary technical assistance.
He was one of five agents assigned to the case. Two agents served as liaison between the Bolivian embassy and the Bolivian minister of the interior, who manage the national police. One agent worked in ballistics and laboratory investigation, and another interrogated witnesses with the use of a polygraph.
McPheters, who speaks fluent Spanish, teamed with a Bolivian counterpart and worked the street to construct a chronology of the crime.
"The Bolivian police already had gone through the crime scene, but he and I went through it with a fine-tooth comb and developed witnesses who saw and heard things," he said.
Additionally, McPheters, who served as a Mormon missionary from 1963 to 1965 in Uraguay and Paraguay, worked with American officials of the Mormon Church.
McPheters said that many Bolivians resented Americans in Lapaz because of the U.S. push to eradicate cocaine.
"I felt like we were targets. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever been through," he said.
McPheters believes the missionaries, who were "highly visible, soft targets," were killed by Bolivians who felt threatened by U.S. policy opposed to cocaine trade. He noted that Bolivians can make much more than the average income of $450 a year by growing and selling coca.
The FBI's investigation led to the arrest of one man accused of killing the missionaries, plus three others who are accused of trying to kill Schultz. Another five men are considered fugitives.
04/04/1990 . . . NO BAIL FOR 5 SUSPECTED OF KILLING ELDERS
A judge Tuesday ordered the five suspects in the slaying of two LDS missionaries to remain behind bars until their trial, despite the prisoners' claims of innocence.
The prisoners, who have been detained since July and October of last year on charges of armed assault, terrorism and murder, started a hunger strike Saturday, saying they were innocent and should be set free.
The five, along with three other people who remain at large, are believed members of the Bolivian terrorist organization Zarate Willka, a group that accepted responsibility for murdering missionaries Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson last May.
Ball, 20, of Coalville, Utah, and Wilson, also 20, of Wellington, Utah, were gunned down as they entered their downtown La Paz apartment May 24, 1989, church officials and Bolivian police said.
Among those jailed are Constantino Yujra, Nelson Encinas, Simon Mamani and Gabriel Rojas. A fifth prisoner was not named.
Justino Peralta, Victor E. Prieto and Susana Zapana Hannover were indicted in the case but remain fugitives.
Judge David Rivas, who was ordered to decide on extending the protective custody of the prisoners but who is not in charge of the ruling on the case itself, also sent a plea Tuesday to the Justice Court of La Paz to appoint a new magistrate in the suit against the presumed terrorists.
The case has been dragging for months after the first two judges resigned, the first because of telephone death threats and the second because he said he anticipated the trial would be thrown out of court for lack of evidence.
Both Rivas and the prosecuting attorney, Jose Rivero, have encouraged the Justice Court to name the new judge through a random drawing.
Rivas told United Press International that he had not received death threats.
Some student and union groups called for the five prisoners, among them four students and a medical doctor, to be presumed innocent because of "the lack of proof against them."
The Student Center of the Sociology Faculty Monday sent representatives to defend the prisoners at the court building to place "pressure" on the judges' decision.
02/09/1990 . . . BOLIVIA TRIAL NEARS CONCLUSION IN SLAYING OF 2 MISSIONARIES
The trial of suspected leftist terrorists entered its final phase Thursday with the reconstruction of killings of two LDS Church missionaries and a bomb attack on the motorcade of then-U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz.
Judge David Rivas Gradin ordered two women believed to be witnesses to the missionaries' killings to appear in court by Monday to confirm statements they gave to police.
Gradin said the two women's testimony would enable him to reach a verdict in the May 24, 1989, killings of Jeffrey Ball, 20, Coalville, Utah, and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Utah. Court officials said the judge could reach a decision by the end of the month.
The two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were shot as they were entering their apartment in La Paz.
12/30/1989 . . . A CHRONOLOGICAL REFLECTION: THE 1980S IN RETROSPECT
May 24, 1989 - Two missionaries serving in the Bolivia La Paz Mission, Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, were assassinated by terrorists.
12/28/1989 . . . 1989 IN UTAH: COLD FUSION MADE U. AN INTERNATIONAL HOT SPOT
Utahns were stunned in May when two local LDS missionaries serving in Bolivia were gunned down by terrorists. Jeffrey Brent Ball, Coalville, and Todd Ray Wilson, Wellington, apparently were returning to their apartment about 10:20 p.m. May 24 when a small yellow car sped by, spewing 9mm gunfire. The young missionaries were the only ones hit by the gunfire in what appeared to be a random attack.
A leftist terrorist group would later claim responsibility. Despite the shootings, missionary work continues.
11/25/1989 . . . TEAM HONORS SLAIN ELDER: UTAH CENTRAL AREA
After dedicating its season to the memory of Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, the North Summit High School football team had a season of 11 wins and one loss and won the state 1A championship.
Elder Ball of Wanship, Utah, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson of Wellington, Utah, were assassinated by terrorists May 24 in La Paz, Bolivia.
While attending the high school, Jeff was varsity football team captain for two years and was on the all-state football team for three years. Rick Harrison, head football coach, said this year's team members wore black patches on their uniforms with Jeff's name and team number.
"Jeff was someone the kids looked up to and respected," Harrison said. "This year's seniors were freshmen when he was a senior. The tragedy . . . made the kids grow up a little bit and held us together."
Members must possess the faith, courage, and commitment their pioneer forefathers had if they are to continue building the kingdom of God in a world in which terrorism is on the rise, said Elder M. Russell Ballard in his Saturday afternoon address.
A member of the Council of the Twelve, Elder Ballard is adviser to the South America North Area Presidency. He spoke of the assassination of Elders Todd Ray Wilson and Jeffrey Brent Ball in Bolivia last May and other missionaries who have died from illness or accident since the first of the year.
"Our sorrow at the loss of any missionary," said Elder Ballard, "can be tempered by this declaration from the Lord Himself, "And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal.' " (D&C 98:13.)
Elder Ballard said missionaries have always faced trials and tribulations, and terrorism now has been added.
"Sometimes terrorists attack Church members or Church property because they believe, mistakenly, that the Church represents the interests of a country. Contrary to such misguided beliefs, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no past or present affiliation with any government agency of any country, including the United States of America."
Elder Ballard assured members they have no reason to feel that serving a mission is unusually dangerous or risky. He pointed out that the death rate of young male missionaries from the United States serving worldwide is one-fifth the death rate of young males of comparable age living in Utah, and is one-seventh the rate of young males of comparable age in the general population of the United States.
"The battle to bring souls unto Christ began in the premortal world with the war in heaven. (See Rev. 12:7.) That same war continues today in the conflict between right and wrong between the gospel and false principles," said Elder Ballard.
"The members of the Church hold a front line position in the contest for the souls of men. The missionaries are on the battlefield fighting with the sword of truth to carry the glorious message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the peoples of the earth. No war has ever been free of risk. The prophecies of the last days lead me to believe that the intensity of the battle for the souls of men will increase, and the risks will become greater as we draw closer to the Second Coming of the Lord.
"Preparing our families for the challenges of the coming years will require us to replace fear with faith."
Elder Ballard further said, "The Lord has not yet said, "The work is done,' so we must continue moving forward. . . . The work will continue to grow and prosper throughout the world."
With an emotion-filled voice, Elder Ballard concluded his address, imploring members to "pray fervently every day" for the missionaries' safety and protection.
10/06/1989 . . . BOLIVIA TO GET NEW JUDGE IN MISSIONARY KILLINGS
A Bolivian district court handling the trial of four suspects charged in the murders of two Utah missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is expected to name a new investigating judge next week, officials said Thursday.
Judge Nestor Loredo's resignation, requested by the prosecuting attorney, was accepted by the court Wednesday.
Loredo had attempted to resign previously, but his resignation was rejected.
It was accepted after La Paz District Attorney Salomon Paniagua complained that Loredo was "biased" because he was apparently afraid of reprisals.
Previously, Loredo had tried to quit the case, complaining he had been receiving anonymous telephone threats. But the court rejected his resignation, ordering bodyguards to protect him.
Another prosecutor in the case, Zulema Zegarra, said the request to oust Loredo was made "because he was trying to prevent us from offering witnesses as evidence."
Loredo, in his defense, said that under Bolivian legal procedure the prosecution had 20 days to present their witnesses, whereas as of Sept. 19, the day the prosecution asked for his disqualification from the case, a total of 38 days had already passed.
Zegarra said that if Loredo had continued with the case he would have freed the defendants, a medical doctor and three students.
They are charged with the May 24 murders of LDS missionaries Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, Coalville, and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington. The two were gunned down outside their La Paz apartment.
10/03/1989 . . . FBI, BOLIVIA STILL SEARCHING FOR KILLERS OF MISSIONARIES
FBI agents are aiding Bolivian authorities in their search for the killers of two Mormon missionaries in La Paz, Bolivia, on May 25, and four alleged conspirators are on trial, the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia says.
"I have made it crystal clear to the president of Bolivia that this is of the greatest importance to us and we want to bring this to the end of the investigation," said Robert S. Gelbard, who met with officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a visit to Salt Lake City recently.
Gelbard said the group that claimed responsibility for the killings, Zarate Wilka Liberation Armed Forces, is a "fringe group that went after Americans" for two reasons: Its members blame the United States for their country's problems and sought revenge for their political party's poor showing in Bolivia's recent national election.
"We predicted to Washington that the far left would react strongly," Gelbard said, adding that the killings were committed only two weeks after the Bolivians chose a new president and parliament.
Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, of Wanship, Summit County, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, of Wellington, Carbon County, were gunned down in front of their living quarters in La Paz. In messages to La Paz newspapers, the terrorist group threatened more American deaths.
The group had claimed responsibility in August 1988 for dynamiting Secretary of State George Schultz's motorcade during a visit to La Paz and for a subsequent bombing of the Bolivian parliament building.
Bolivian authorities have advised missionaries and other Americans who might be terrorist targets to "observe minimal security precautions" by altering daily routines and not loitering in open areas.
Gelbard characterized the missionaries' deaths as a violent reaction to a politically "centrist tendency" developing in Bolivia, which has "had more governments than years of existence."
Since its independence from Spain in 1825, Bolivia has seen 180 military takeovers, he said. But in the past seven years, the country has had a weak democracy while coping with inflation that peaked at an annual rate of 24,000 percent.
"There's a lack of strong democratic institutions, whether at the macro level or the micro level," Gelbard said. "They have a hard time making things work."
The United States has three goals in Bolivia: fostering democracy, supporting economic stabilization and development and reducing production of coca, the plant used to make cocaine.
This year, U.S. officials will funnel $100 million in aid to Bolivia to improve health and agriculture and support private-sector development.
Members of the Council of the Twelve reaffirmed women's divine role in God's kingdom and counseled that potential missionaries have no reason to fear, despite two tragic assassinations in Bolivia.
Elders Russell M. Nelson and M. Russell Ballard gave that counsel to the thousands of faithful church members assembled under clear blue skies, tipped with blustery autumn breezes, to attend the Saturday afternoon session of church's 159th Semiannual General Conference.
. . .
Addressing a topic of recent concern to church members, Elder Ballard said despite the death of two righteous missionaries serving in Bolivia earlier this year, potential missionaries have no reason to fear.
Utah Elders Todd Ray Wilson and Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball were assassinated by terrorists late May 24, 1989, as they were returning to their La Paz, Bolivia, apartment. Their deaths caused church members throughout the world to mourn, Elder Ballard said.
"Our sorrow at the loss of any faithful missionary can be tempered by this declaration from the Lord himself: "And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal,' " Elder Ballard said, quoting LDS scripture.
President Steven B. Wright of the church's Bolivia La Paz Mission had a vision of two elders dressed in white, standing at the doors of a beautiful building, Elder Ballard said. The missionaries were greeting Bolivians, also dressed in white, who were entering the building.
"Elders Wilson and Ball were ushering those they had prepared to receive the gospel in the spirit world into the temple to witness the vicarious ordinances being performed in their behalf. This dream has been a great comfort to me and has helped me to understand and accept their death," Elder Ballard said, quoting from President Wright.
Elder Ballard said more than 39,000 faithful missionaries have been instrumental this year in bringing tens of thousands of people into the church. Never in the history of the LDS Church have missionaries served without serious challenges, tribulations and difficulties. And in many ways, he said, the past 60 years of the church's history have been relatively calm in comparison to founder Joseph Smith's day.
"Perhaps some of these recent events are a toughening process to help us learn how to shoulder and not shrink from our responsibility to preach the gospel to all the peoples of the earth."
Terrorists mistakenly attack church members or property believing the church represents the interest of a country. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no past or present affiliation with any government agency of any country, including the United States of America," Elder Ballard said. "In genuine Christian kindness and loving concern, missionaries and other church members offer to all sincere and law-abiding peoples nothing more or less than the restored gospel of Jesus Christ."
09/09/1989 . . . BOLIVIA TRAGEDY PLAYS ROLE IN CONVERSIONS
Conversions do not usually hinge on tragedies, but in this small South American country recently, tragic occurrences played essential roles in three baptisms.
The roots of this story trace back nearly 14 years and several thousand miles from La Paz, to Brigham Young University. At that time, a Bolivian couple, Oscar and Olga Lobo, had arrived in Provo, Utah, to study, and became acquainted with Steven R. Wright, a graduate student teaching English to non-natives.
The Lobos were among Wright's students, and on several occasions, the young couple expressed to their professor the strong desire that Oscar's parents join the Church, as Oscar and his younger brother, Luis, had previously done.
During the years that followed, Oscar's parents, Jorge and Elena Lobo, had various contacts with the Church, but never arrived at the decision to be baptized. On one occasion, the couple became acquainted with Pres. Grant Faucett, former president of the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission, and his wife, Betty, as the Faucetts were traveling through South America with their son. But despite the example of their children and friends, the Lobos remained only superficially involved in the gospel.
Then a major development occurred. Tragedy struck in May 1989 and two missionaries, Elders Todd Ray Wilson and Jeffrey Brent Ball, were assassinated by terrorists in La Paz. Arrangements for the services of Elder Wilson were made in Wellington, Utah, by Faucett Mortuary, owned by Grant Faucett, the former mission president in Buenos Aires.
During the funeral, Sister Faucett was seated by Marsha Bryner, whose son, Bill, had been working in the La Paz mission office at the time of the two missionaries' deaths. While they were conversing, Sister Faucett mentioned they had some non-member friends in Bolivia whose sons were members of the Church. Sister Bryner sent a letter to her son, telling him to see if he could locate Jorge and Elena Lobo. "Maybe now is a time to see if they are ready to hear the gospel," she wrote.
When Elder Bryner received the letter, the possibility of ever finding the couple seemed minimal, as he had no current address, and La Paz is a city of more than 1 1/2 million inhabitants. The weekend after receiving his mother's letter, however, Elder Bryner was invited to attend a family home evening at the home of Jorge Vidovic, a recent convert in his area. Vidovic's mother, Celfa, who was investigating the Church, had invited two friends over to hear the missionaries' presentation. The couple was Jorge and Elena Lobo.
The Lobos readily agreed to attend Church and listen to the discussions. Soon, they asked for baptism, along with Celfa Vidovic.
This was the news that Oscar Lobo, residing in Arizona, had hoped to hear since his days at BYU. He quickly called his younger brother Luis, who lived in Alabama, to pass on the good news. Upon hearing the scheduled baptism date, Luis realized that he would be in South America on business during that time, and phoned his parents to tell them he would be there to perform the baptism.
Oscar made one more phone call - to his former English teacher, Steven Wright, now president of the Bolivia La Paz Mission.
A week before the baptisms, Elder Bryner was transferred to a city 12 hours from La Paz, and it appeared that he would be unable to attend the baptismal service of the family to whom the Lord had so miraculously led him. Once again, a circumstance intervened to allow him to see the fruits of his labors. On his way to his new assignment, a car accident injured Elder Bryner. In order to allow his fractured collar-bone to recuperate, he remained in the mission office, making it possible for him to witness the baptisms.
The Lobos and Celfa Vidovic were baptized on Aug. 2 by Luis Lobo, and confirmed by Pres. Wright, who reaffirmed that "despite the great tribulations that this mission has endured, the Lord continues to bless the missionary efforts in this part of His vineyard."
07/22/1989 . . . TERRORISTS RELATIVELY EASY ON LDS TARGETS
While the leftist Lautaro Rebel and Popular Force in Chile has ruthlessly murdered and robbed others, it has been relatively easy on LDS Church targets - usually bombing its chapels when no one is around.
In fact, the chapel attacks are often apparently used as not-too-dangerous training for its young terrorist recruits in its "Lautaro Youth Movement," according to information provided to the Deseret News by the Chilean embassy.
That suggests that even though terrorist attacks against LDS targets have been relatively frequent in South America recently, the attacks usually are less severe than those suffered by other American-based churches worldwide, according to unclassified documents obtained from the U.S. State Department.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in May that since the church was founded, only 525 of its 447,969 missionaries had died in service through accident, illness or other causes.
"That is less than one-tenth of 1 percent," he said. "When you contemplate that number, it appears that the safest place to be in the whole world is on a full-time mission."
Still, there is some danger.
Many American-based churches report acting more cautiously - stressing they are apolitical and using more native missionaries where possible - because they are seen increasingly as symbols of America, not just of religion.
That makes them and their missionaries, chapels and congregations potential targets for terrorists.
Unclassified State Department documents and recent press reports - while possibly not complete - help show the dimensions of that problem.
Since 1987, at least 40 incidents of political violence against American missionaries and churches occurred with 33 of them against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although the incidents against it are usually less severe.
However, State Department and church officials said they are unsure whether the LDS Church is targeted more often or if it simply reports the incidents more completely.
The tally of violence against LDS targets since 1987 includes three people assassinated; 26 chapels bombed or burned with six people injured; two additional failed bombing attempts; one missionary accosted by students; two cases of violent vandalism; and two cases of extortion/harassment.
All those incidents occurred in Latin America: 15 in Chile; six in the Dominican Republic; five in Colombia; four in Bolivia; and one each in Peru, Honduras and Argentina.
The worst incident occurred May 24 when Elders Todd Wilson and Jeffrey Ball were assassinated as they returned to their apartment in La Paz, Bolivia. Also in the past month, the LDS Church has suffered attacks on three chapels in Chile and Bolivia.
Only seven other incidents were listed in State Department documents and recent press reports against other American missionaries and churches abroad in the same period - but they were severe.
They included 10 people assassinated; one other shot and wounded; 10 others kidnapped; and three chapel bombings. The incidents occurred in Africa and Latin America.
The most gruesome was in Esigodini, Zimbabwe, where leftist guerrillas worried that 11 Pentecostal missionaries - including Americans David Emerson and Karen Ivesdahl - were spreading "Western capitalism" along with their religion.
So on Nov. 25, 1987, about 20 armed Marxist rebels abducted the missionaries. They killed all the missionaries but one young girl and sent her with a note to authorities saying the rebels aimed to rid Zimbabwe of "Western, capitalist-oriented people."
State Department records also provide comparisons of attacks on church targets to attacks on business targets - and shows it is targeted similarly to somee large businesses.
A State Department compilation titled "U.S. Business Targets 1988" shows that the LDS Church (which was included, even though it is a church) suffered more attacks that year than any American business except Occidental Petroleum. Occidental suffered 55 attacks and threats, mainly because its oil pipelines in Colombia were continually bombed by terrorists. The LDS Church was next highest with nine incidents listed in the document. Citibank was third with eight.
Others that suffered attacks in 1988 included such businesses as Dole, Ford, American Express, IBM, Coca-Cola and other oil companies.
Experts have various explanations for why different American missionaries and churches are becoming terrorist targets. One State Department official, who talked on condition of anonymity, said missionaries for churches operating in Africa, for example, usually operate in remote areas. That makes them easy targets because officials who might protect them are far away. Missionaries there are sometimes also caught in the crossfire of local rebellions.
As for Latin America, another State Department official said LDS missionaries can become targets for anti-American groups because their customary white shirts, ties and name tags make them easy to spot.
Another official said that LDS chapels, which are often the nicest buildings in poor areas, make tempting targets for terrorists.
State Department and congressional sources also said LDS missionaries are targets because of persistent, though false rumors among natives that they are CIA spies. The rumors are one reason graffiti including "CIA Agents" was painted on an LDS chapel bombed a year ago in La Paz, Bolivia. LDS Church leaders recently reported they held a press conference in Bolivia last month to try stop the rumors.
As one official said, the CIA obviously wouldn't be very smart if it used spies that stand out so much - but some natives believe the rumors anyway.
Elder Ballard was quoted as saying, "There has been a misconception, and I don't know where it came from, that in South America the missionaries have been perceived as being connected with U.S. government agencies. This is, of course, absolutely untrue."
The LDS Church has stressed that it stays out of politics and is interested only in religion. Elder Ballard was quoted, "Our missionary guidelines have always been that the missionaries are not to engage in political discussions of any kind. This is the case regardless of where they serve in the world. Ours is a simple responsibility of proclaiming the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and nothing more."
LDS Church leaders have discussed with the U.S. State Department ways it might better protect its highly visible missionaries abroad - such as mixing up their schedules and generally being prudent in unsettled areas.
Other churches also report precautions, including using native missionaries in countries where Americans would be at high risk and charging missionaries not to discuss politics at all.
Merton Campbell, a spokesman for the New York City-based Jehovah's Witnesses, said, "One of the basic reasons we have had few problems is we stay completely free from politics of any nation. True, in certain countries where we recognize Americans are not welcome, we have Canadians or missionaries from a European country."
Mario Valosa, who oversees South American operations for the Seventh Day Adventist Church based in College Park, Md., said, "We would be able to say we are not considered an American presence because most missionaries are natives. Nationals also hold most administrative and leading positions."
Shirley Burton, spokeswoman for the Adventists, also said her church carefully stays out of politics in the 190 nations where it has members or missionaries.
07/12/1989 . . . LDS CHURCH REASSIGNING MISSIONARIES
The LDS Church has announced that many of its American missionaries serving in Bolivia and Peru are being transferred and others sent home early because of general political unrest in both countries.
The announcement comes on the heels of the Monday night bombing of a chapel belonging to the Hamacus Ward of the Paraiso Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Authorities say the church was bombed between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. MDT Monday. No one was in the building at the time, and no injuries were reported.
The bomb was apparently planted inside the front of the chapel and was believed to have been activated by a timer, President Erwin Birnbaumer of the church's Paraiso Stake told the Deseret News Tuesday.
"It blew off the doors, some windows and damaged the front of the church," said Beverly Fallis, wife of Bolivia Cochabamba Mission President Harrel Fallis.
President Birnbaumer said the pressure from the explosion ripped eight doors off their hinges and caused an estimated $16,000 damage to the building. Two police guards have been hired to watch the chapel for the next 30 days while the building is being repaired, he said.
As of late Tuesday, no one had claimed responsibility for the bombing. There was some speculation that the bombing was committed by the same terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the assassination of two Utah missionaries in Bolivia on May 24.
However, Bolivian media reports quoted police officials as saying the bombing did not have the same characteristics as those of the Zarate Wilka Liberation Front group - partly because the group usually claims responsibility immediately after its actions, Mrs. Fallis said.
Meanwhile, 17 missionaries from the Cochabamba Mission are scheduled to return to their American homes Wednesday - up to three months before some were scheduuled to be released.
"They (church leaders) have informed us that all (American) missionaries with release dates between now and December will be sent home this month and next," she said, adding that another large group of American missionaries is scheduled to leave in August.
Church spokesman Don LeFevre said many of the church's American missionaries in Bolivia and Peru are being redeployed to other missions because of "unsettled conditions" in some areas. Some missionaries are also being released from service early to avoid unnecessary expense involved in transfers to other missions, he said.
Peru Lima East Mission President Douglas Earl told the Deseret News seven missionaries were sent home early on Tuesday night and 11 others are scheduled to be transferred to missions in Uruguay and Chile later this week. The changes will leave him with a ratio of about 30 percent American missionaries to about 70 percent Peruvian missionaries, he said.
"This has been in the plans for a month or so," he said. The mission president believes the decision to reduce the number of North American missionaries in Peru is simply a precautionary measure.
"There is no question that there is a lot of terroristic activity . . . you hear gunshots, quite a lot in a lot of areas," President Earl said. "We feel that things (in Peru) are progressively becoming more chaotic . . . because of hyper-inflation, the really awful economy and criminals.
"I think that the church has really responded in a positive way by making these changes," he said. He stressed that there have been no incidents directly against LDS Church members or its missionaries.
The presidents of three other missions in Peru told the Deseret News Tuesday that they have not received instructions to transfer or send missionaries home early. They said, however, that they are keeping American missionaries out of areas where terrorist activity has occurred and said the number of American missionaries being sent has been greatly reduced.
All American missionaries in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador have been paired up with native companions, said Peru Arequipa Mission President Francisco Gimenez. Missionaries are taking various other precautions to make themselves less visible and predictable.
President Birnbaumer said church members in Santa Cruz are also taking precautions but are not overly concerned about the bombing. "Everything's functioning as normal," he said. "A bomb is not going to scare any of us."
07/08/1989 . . . TWO SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN MISSIONARY KILLINGS
Bolivian authorities have arrested two brothers suspected in the shooting deaths of two missionaries here May 24.
The missionaries, Elder Todd R. Wilson, 20, of Wellington, Utah, and Elder Jeffrey T. Ball, 20, of Coalville, Utah, were gunned down by automatic weapons fire as they were about to enter their La Paz apartment. One died at the scene and the other died en route to the hospital. (See Church News, May 27 and June 3.)
The two men who were arrested June 30 are Nestor and Felix Encinas, members of the Zarate Willika Liberation Army that claimed responsibility for the murders and other terrorist acts.
The arrests were announced by Interior Minister Eduardo Perez, Bolivia's top law official. Officers said they have significant evidence linking the suspects to the crimes.
Three other members of the rebel group were arrested earlier in the week in connection with the bomb attack against former Secretary of State George Shultz.
Robert Wharton, press attache at the U.S. Embassy here, said FBI investigators and a $500,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the missionaries' killers were factors that may have helped in the investigation, but the arrests were the result of "good, solid police work on the part of the Bolivians."
Observers said the sentence for convicted murderers in Bolivia carries a 15- to 20-year prison term. In addition, the killers could also be charged with sedition against the state, which carries a 30-year prison term. Bolivia has no death penalty.
07/02/1989 . . . BOLIVIA ARRESTS 2 SOUGHT IN DEATHS OF 2 MISSIONARIES
Authorities believe they have arrested the assassins of two LDS missionaries gunned down May 24 in La Paz, the U.S. Embassy said Saturday.
Robert Wharton, press attache at the embassy, told the Deseret News Saturday night that police officials believe they have arrested the people responsible for the slayings of Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Carbon County, and Elder Jeffrey Todd Ball, 20, Coalville.
Friday, Bolivian police arrested brothers Nestor and Felix Encinas, believed to be members of the leftist terrorist group Zarate Willka Liberation Army. That group claimed responsibility for the killings and called the two missionaires for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Yankee intruders."
Asked why the Utahns would have been singled out, Wharton said, "My own feeling is the missionaries offered a very easy target."
They were easily identifiable because of their style of dress, combined with their regular schedule that made them easier to identify and follow than embassy personnel, he said. Since the killings, anonymous threats against embassy personnel have been received, and embassy security has been tightened, the spokesman said.
Although the FBI offered assistance in the investigation, Wharton praised the Bolivian police for the arrests.
The investigation unfolded over six days. Following a trail of suspects, the police made a series of arrests on Sunday and Wednesday that led to the naming of the brothers as the prime suspects in the killings. Wharton said police began looking for the brothers last Thursday.
"(The arrests) were the result of good, solid police work on the part of the Bolivians. The Bolivians should be credited for them," Wharton said.
Elder Ball and Elder Wilson were gunned down by automatic weapons fire as they were entering their La Paz apartment. One died at the scene of the shooting, the other en route to the hospital.
Interior Minister Eduardo Perez, Bolivia's top law official, announced the arrests of the Encinas brothers Saturday.
On Thursday, the interior and information ministers announced the arrests of several Zarate Willka members, including two university students and a medical doctor.
The group claimed responsibility for the August 1988 bomb explosion aimed at the caravan of former Secretary of State George Shultz. No one was hurt. The group also is blamed for a bomb set off in Parliament last year.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that American FBI agents have helped track down members of the terrorist group.
Some of those arrested had once worked in a military government's "paramilitary" intelligence service, the Times quoted Bolivian officials as saying. The U.S. Embassy said that at least one had received training in Cuba.
In 1967, Cuba sponsored a guerrilla band led by revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara in rural Bolivia. With the aid of U.S. advisers, Bolivian army rangers hunted the guerrillas down and killed Guevara in October 1967.
Other small Bolivian guerrilla groups were defeated early in the 1970s. Since then, Zarate Willka is the first armed rebel organization to have surfaced in this land-locked country, the poorest in South America, the paper said.
Still at large were the group's leader, identified only as "Horacio," and his second-in-command, "Sapo" - the Spanish word for toad.
U.S. Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard said that Bolivia's extreme left, unable to win mass allegiance, uses the United States as a scapegoat for its failure. Marxist politicians accused the United States of violating Bolivian sovereignty with anti-drug and military aid programs.
Gelbard said the terrorists struck out at the missionaries "because the Mormons in their eyes are symbolic of the United States."
After the slayings of the two Mormons, a special team of six FBI agents came to work with Bolivian police in the investigation. The FBI brought lie detectors, ballistics laboratory equipment and other instruments, the Times reported.
Some observers say that a $500,000 reward, offered by the United States for information leading to the conviction of the killers, also may have helped in the investigation.
Information Minister Herman Antelo said there was no evidence that the Zarate Willka band was linked to any Bolivian political party or foreign organization.
Gelbard said that one man under arrest, Julio Penaranda, received bomb training in Cuba. "It's pure Cuban terrorism, I don't think there is any question about it," he said.
07/01/1989 . . . 2 SUSPECTED OF KILLING MISSIONARIES SOUGHT
Police have arrested three members of a rebel group linked to a bomb attack against former Secretary of State George Shultz and named two other group members suspected of killing two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Authorities identified all five people as members of the Zarate Willka Liberation Armed Forces rebel group, which claimed responsibility for the August 1988 dynamite attack on Shultz's motorcade. No one was wounded in the incident.
The same group claimed responsibility for the death of the LDS missionaries, Elder Jeffrey Todd Ball, 20, Coalville, Utah, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Utah, who were shot to death May 24 in La Paz.
The group also took responsibility for an attack on parliament the end of last year.
Information Minister Herman Antelo said Thursday night those arrested included Yujra Loza, a sociology student at the San Andres University. Loza "confessed to having participated in the attack on former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz," he said.
The attack occurred during a visit by Shultz to La Paz when dynamite exploded on a road from the city's airport as the Shultz motorcade was passing.
Antelo indentified the two other members of the group who were arrested as Dr. Gabriel Rojas, alleged ideological leader of the group, and Tema Salazar Mamani, a university student.
He also said authorities were searching for two other members of the organization, brothers Nestor and Felix Encinas Laguna, and described them as the authors of an attack on parliament.
There also are "indications of their participation in the murders" of the missionaries, Antelo said.
Proof also exists showing the brothers were members of paramilitary groups under the Interior Ministry of previous military governments, he said.
Contacted late Friday afternoon, Jerry Cahill, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the church's missionary department wasn't aware of the apparent breakthrough in the investigation of the missionaries' slaying, although he said the information is "very gratifying."
Antelo said authorities searched the living quarters of the three people arrested and "found diverse material and elements that indicated the terrorist activity of the group."
Interior Minister Eduardo Perez Beltran, the nation's top law official, said authorities had established the group had a Marxist ideology and were fighting for rights of Bolivian Indians.
Authorities also were looking for the leader of the group, identified as "Horacio," and the second in command, who is called "El Sapo."
06/24/1989 . . . `WISELY, CAUTIOUSLY,' MISSIONARY WORK PROCEEDS IN BOLIVIA
Missionary work is proceeding "wisely, prudently and cautiously" following the May 24 slaying of two full-time missionaries, Elders Jeffrey B. Ball and Todd R. Wilson, according to Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of the Twelve.
Elder Ballard returned recently from a tour of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. He and Elder Charles Didier of the First Quorum of the Seventy, president of the South America North Area, met with missionaries and the general membership.
"We toured nine missions and gave instructions to the missionaries concerning safety precautions they need to observe, including returning to their apartments by 9:30 p.m. and how to travel and conduct themselves in the present climate," Elder Ballard said.
"Contrary to rumors I've heard since I returned," he added, "the missionary elders are still wearing white shirts and ties, the sister missionaries are dressing as they always have, and the missionaries are wearing their name tags.
"We're just being more attentive to caution," he noted, adding that "we will continue with our efforts in those countries, and we'll do it wisely, prudently and cautiously."
Elder Ballard said Richard T. Bretzing, managing director of Church security, also met with the missionaries in La Paz and gave them "guidelines for taking precautionary measures." Bretzing is a retired FBI agent.
A news conference was held in La Paz, Elder Ballard said, "to dispel the myth that the missionaries have something to do with government agencies."
He added: "There has been a misconception, and I don't know where it came from, that in South America the missionaries have been perceived as being connected with U.S. government agencies. This is, of course, absolutely untrue.
"Our missionary guidelines have always been that the missionaries are not to engage in political discussions of any kind. This is the case regardless of where they serve in the world. Ours is a simple responsibility of proclaiming the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and nothing more."
While in Bolivia, Elder Ballard met with the federal minister of religions and the Catholic archbishop, both of whom expressed their concern and support.
The work of sharing the gospel in the Bolivia La Paz Mission halted for a few days after the tragic event as missionaries were asked to stay in their apartments for security reasons. During that time, members brought in meals to them.
In the aftermath of the deaths, the Bolivian public has become more sympathetic to the Church, mission Pres. Steven R. Wright said. Newspaper coverage included the reaction of the families of the slain missionaries, and editorials praised them for their "great example of faith and courage in light of tragedy," Pres. Wright added.
Closer ties with the government have also been realized, and the local police have become more sympathetic to the missionary work, Pres. Wright noted.
The greatest change, however, has been "in the way members are cooperating with the missionaries," the mission president said. "There is more friendshipping and fellowshipping, and members have increased their efforts in finding investigators. Members have been given courage to talk to their friends about the gospel. Doors have been opened both here and in the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission."
On a personal level, Pres. Wright said he appreciated the calls he received from the Ball and Wilson families. "They called to comfort me," he said. "That was a great testimony, and example of the kind of inner strength that comes to members in these situations."
In related events, the United States government has announced that as part of a program to combat international terrorism, it is offering a $500,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the assassins. Police released a description of two men and a woman believed to have carried out the murders.
"The reward can be picked up only after the capture, trial and conviction of the persons responsible for this act of terrorism," a government statement said.
06/21/1989 . . . LDS CHURCH COUNSELS MISSIONARIES IN BOLIVIA ON SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has counseled its Bolivian missionaries to take several precautions in the wake of the assassinations of two missionaries in La Paz on May 24.
Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Council of the Twelve, just returned from a tour of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
"We toured nine missions and gave instructions to the missionaries concerning safety precautions they need to observe, including returning to their apartments by 9:30 p.m. and how to travel and conduct themselves in the present climate," Elder Ballard said.
Todd Ray Wilson, 20, of Wellington and Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, of Wanship were gunned down as they returned to their apartment in a poor suburb of La Paz. A group calling itself the Armed Liberation Front of Zarate Wilka claimed responsibility.
Utah parents of many missionaries in Bolivia have received copies of written precautions given to the missionaries.
Martha Hammond, Riverdale, whose 19-year-old son, Paul, is in Cochabamba, was one of the parents to receive a copy.
"During the day, the missionaries are instructed to stay away from the site of the murders, high-crime areas or areas of open hostilities, past records of trouble or degrading influences," Hammond quoted instructions issued by church officials.
Hammond said her son also told her they had taken security classes from FBI agents, one a Mormon, Hammond said.
A church press release said that Richard T. Bretzing, managing director of church security, met with missionaries in La Paz and gave them "guidelines for taking precautionary measures," Elder Ballard said. Bretzing is a retired FBI agent.
Some media have reported that the missionaries also leave and return from their rounds at different times every day and have been told to wear colored clothing over their white shirts.
But Elder Ballard stressed that missionaries are still wearing mission dress.
"Contrary to rumors I've heard since I returned," he said, "the missionary elders are still wearing white shirts and ties, the sister missionaries are dressing as they always have, and the missionaries are wearing their name tags."
The church will continue missionary work in the countries Elder Ballard toured, he said, "and we'll do it wisely, prudently and cautiously."
Elder Ballard said a news conference was held in La Paz "to dispel the myth that the missionaries have something to do with government agencies. There has been a misconception, and I don't know where it came from, that in South America the missionaries have been perceived as being connected with U.S. government agencies. This is, of course, absolutely untrue.
"Our missionary guidelines have always been that the missionaries are not to engage in political discussions of any kind. This is the case regardless of where they serve in the world. Ours is a simple responsibility of proclaiming the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and nothing more."
06/17/1989 . . . U.S. OFFERING $500,000 FOR MISSIONARIES' KILLERS
The United States is offering a $500,000 reward for the return of the assassins who gunned down two LDS missionaires last month, the U.S. Embassy said Friday.
The embassy pointed to a reward program begun in 1984 to combat international terrorism and said the May 24 murders "have been included in this program."
"The rewards can be picked up only after the capture, trial and conviction of the persons responsible for this act of terrorism," a statement said.
Elder Jeffrey T. Ball, 20, of Coalville, Utah, and Elder Todd R. Wilson, 20, of Wellington, Utah, were shot to death as they entered their home in a poor La Paz neighborhood.
A little-known terrorist group, the Zarate Willka Liberation Armed Forces, claimed responsibility, referring in a statement to "Yankee intruders" who violated national sovereignty.
Top Bolivian officials later said the group may be linked to cocaine traffickers angered at the U.S. support of an anti-drug program.
Police Friday released the descriptions of two men and a woman believed to have carried out the murders. The two missionaries were killed with a 9mm automatic weapon, officials said.
06/03/1989 . . . CHURCH LEADERS EULOGIZE SLAIN ELDERS
"Jeff has gone home. He has gone home to God," President Thomas S. Monson said at funeral services eulogizing Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, who was slain in Bolivia May 24.
"He's gone home on a missionary transfer," President Monson continued. "He is still on his mission; he has not been released. He carries on in the spirit of missionary work."
President Monson spoke at services presided over by President Ezra Taft Benson. The prophet, accompanied by his wife, Flora, offered brief remarks extending his love to the family. He spoke of his love for missionary work and testified that, "This work has just begun."
He stood at President Monson's side as his second counselor read a letter of sympathy and encouragement to the family from the First Presidency.
About 1,000 people attended the services held in the Coalville stake center.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of the Twelve also spoke at the funeral. Elder Monte J. Brough of the Second Quorum of the Seventy and counselor in the Utah South area presidency attended.
Other speakers included Pres. Myron A. Richins of the Coalville Utah Stake; Bishop Larry J. Vernon of the Wanship Ward; and Sister Wendy Ball, Elder Ball's sister who came to the funeral from her mission in Guatemala.
Following the services, mountain skies were darkened and distant thunder echoed over the cemetery, located near Elder Ball's hometown of Wanship, as the gravesite was dedicated. Bishop Vernon described the ashen, rain-streaked skies in just four words: "And the Lord wept."
In his address, President Monson declared: "As the Lord rose, so shall Jeff Ball rise in the resurrection, and go on toward exaltation in the celestial kingdom. This is my testimony, it is my faith and my belief - it is my knowledge, and I share it with the members of the Ball family today."
He then spoke to Elder Ball's parents: "You entrusted your son to our care, and to the care of the Lord. And while all did not work out as we had hoped, and you had hoped, I think he would say, "Do not grieve, Mother. Do not sorrow, Father. I am on the Lord's errand, and He may do with me as He sees fit.'
"There is not a missionary parent in this Church whose heart is not bleeding, and whose eyes have not wept tears over the passing of these two splendid missionaries," said President Monson.
"After this service is concluded, and after Jeff's body has been laid to rest in mother earth in these beautiful valleys of the mountains," President Monson continued, "I would like to declare that the void in the heart and the grieving in the soul can be ameliorated in only one way - and that's through the intervention of the giver of peace, the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ."
President Monson said that Elder Ball had left a heritage of faithful service in Bolivia. "His fellow missionaries said to the reporters, "We will carry on in the spirit of our calling.
"I have every confidence that the work will go forward with even greater acceleration."
In his address, Elder Ballard read a letter to Elder Ball's parents from Pres. Steven R. Wright of the Bolivia La Paz Mission. Pres. Wright told of interviewing Elder Ball just five days before the incident. "As he left the office, I gave him a big hug. I told him I loved him. I will always be grateful that he knew that you and I loved him."
Elder Ballard said that, "We are doing all that we can to understand the nature of this attack, but I know Elder Ball and Elder Wilson well enough from all I have heard and read, . . . that as far as they are concerned, they would say, "Carry on the work in Bolivia and every other nation of the world.'
Elder Ballard said that since the days of Joseph Smith, some 447,969 missionaries have served in the Church. Of those, 525 have lost their lives while serving, through accident, illness or other causes. "That is less than one-tenth of 1 percent," he said. "When you contemplate that number, it appears that the safest place to be in the whole world is on a full-time mission."
Pres. Richins and Bishop Vernon expressed love to the Ball family, and thanked them for the strength they showed during this trying time.
Elder Ball's sister, Wendy, who returned from Guatemala for the funeral, said her brother always had a sense of humor, and wrote about giving his first missionary discussion in Spanish. He struggled through the first part, then asked the investigator if he had any questions. The investigator shook his head and replied, "I am sorry, young man. I don't speak Italian."
"Jeff just laughed," she said. "He always told us to keep a sense of humor."
06/03/1989 . . . ELDER WILSON `WORTHY OF GOD'S BEST'
By Gerry Avant, Church News Assistant Editor Church News page 3
A spirit of love and comfort reigned in Wellington, Utah, May 30 as one of its valiant sons was laid to rest in a peaceful cemetery atop a hill on the outskirts of this small mining community in eastern Utah.
Elder Todd Ray Wilson, who was shot to death with his companion in La Paz, Bolivia, on May 24, was eulogized as a faithful missionary who died while bringing light and understanding, truth and testimony "to the sons and daughters of Lehi."
Speakers eulogizing Elder Wilson at the funeral in the Wellington Utah Stake center included President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, and Elder L. Tom Perry of the Council of the Twelve. Elder Russell C. Taylor of the Second Quorum of the Seventy and a counselor in the Utah South Area Presidency attended.
Also speaking at the service, which was attended by about 700 people, was Pres. Rodger Branch of the Wellington Utah Stake. Elder Wilson's eldest brother, Dan Wilson, and a sister, Diane Wilson Christensen, read a family tribute to the slain missionary.
President Hinckley, after reading a letter from the First Presidency to family members, told them the Church wept with them. "Missionaries are so dear to the entire Church that when one is lost through death the entire Church grieves," he said.
"In going as he went," President Hinckley told Elder Wilson's parents, "your son has become part of a small number who will be remembered always in the records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many have died in this cause. Many have given their lives 0 thousands - for their testimony of the truth, but only few have been gunned down by hateful men who loved not the Lord nor His works.
"And now," said President Hinckley, "Elder Wilson and Elder Ball have been shot to death while they, as missionaries of the Church, served the Lord in faith and truth. So the names of Elder Wilson and Elder Ball will be engraved forever in the history of this Church as those who lived as faithful servants of God and died as martyrs to His eternal works."
President Hinckley spoke of the Bolivian people, referring to them as Lamanites, "a remnant of great peoples of ages past."
"What a mission," exclaimed President Hinckley, "to bring light and understanding, and truth and testimony, and to witness to the sons and daughters of Lehi of their great inheritance.
"A boy from Wellington - this quiet little town in Utah - [was called] to go as a messenger of eternal truth to that far away land."
President Hinckley further said, "He might have given his life in other causes. He could not have given it in a greater cause than this. We wonder why it happened, why a strong and faithful and good young man who responds to a call to go into the mission field should lose his life while in the service of the Lord. We cannot explain it. We can only say the wisdom of God is greater than our wisdom, that mortal life . . . is only a passing episode in an eternal journey and that it really doesn't matter whether we are here for a long time or a short time in this probation."
He explained there is missionary work to be done on both sides of the veil. "I think," he said, "as we weep here, there will be those who weep with gladness on the other side of the veil. I think particularly Lehi and Sariah and their children and progeny rejoice over the good work of one who tried to lift and help some of their posterity in the land of Bolivia.
"We weep, of course. The Lord said, "Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch as thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die. . . .those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them.' " (D&C 42:45-46.)
Elder Perry, in his address, noted that the day before the funeral was Memorial Day on which honor was paid to noble and great men and women who gave their lives to preserve freedom.
"Today," Elder Perry told the funeral gathering, "we have a memorial day to honor a young man who gave his life, and not only [so others mayT enjoy freedom on this earth but freedom in the eternities to come.
"We meet today," Elder Perry further said, "with sadness and with hope. Sadness at the loss of a loyal, devoted and faithful servant of our Father in Heaven, who went willingly into the mission field, taught and trained and lifted, and touched the hearts of thousands as he spread his message of hope and good cheer and the great opportunity of enjoying life eternal to a nation that is so troubled, so much in poverty, with so little hope.
"He has given the ultimate sacrifice. He joined 17 others since 1831 who have had their lives taken from them by an assassin as they served in the mission field. In all those years, just a few have given the ultimate."
Pres. Branch expressed his love for the Wilson family and appreciation "for what Todd has taught me."
In the tribute to their brother, Dan Wilson and Diane Christensen were seemingly supported by an alliance of faith and hope. They ended the tribute, quoting in unison what they felt their brother would be worthy of saying: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."
06/03/1989 . . . SADNESS MARKS MISSIONARIES' 'HOMECOMING'
The airport homecoming for Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson on May 28 was not the joyful kind usually experienced by returning missionaries; it was shaded by sadness, solemnity and reverence.
The two companions, both 20, were assassinated by terrorists May 24 as they were returning to their apartment in La Paz, Bolivia. Elder Ball was from Wanship, Utah, and Elder Wilson from Wellington, Utah.
The bodies were flown by a commercial jet to the Salt Lake International Airport. The two caskets, encased in cardboard, were removed from the cargo hold of the plane and placed into waiting hearses. The missionaries were companions to the end.
Elder Ball's family members stood on the windy tarmac and watched. Elder Wilson's family opted to remain in Wellington, a 125-mile journey southeast of Salt Lake City, where they attended regular Sunday meetings, while a local mortician, a family friend, obtained Elder Wilson's body at the airport.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of the Twelve and Elder Russell C. Taylor of the Second Quorum of the Seventy stood with Brent and Joyce Ball, their 18-year-old son Greg, and their missionary daughter, Wendy, as the caskets were removed from the airplane. Also with the family were Brent Ball's brothers and his 84-year-old father.
Elder Ballard patted Sister Ball's hand as she wiped her eyes. Greg, stocky and athletic like his older brother, clutched his mother's arm to comfort her. Wendy, who was brought home from her field of labor in Guatemala to be with the family in the wake of the tragedy, struggled to maintain her composure.
Speaking for the First Presidency and all of the General Authorities, Elder Ballard later said to news reporters inside the airport terminal: "We join with everyone in expressing our deepest feelings of trauma and upset over this awful thing that has happened to Elder Wilson and Elder Ball. We express to all of the friends of the two families, on behalf of them, their appreciation for the outpouring of love and feelings that have come to these families.
"These missionaries returned to us today in these caskets have fulfilled a noble service in the country they lived in. Missionaries continue to serve in South America and we pray that hearts will be softened and tragedies like this will never occur again to such wonderful, good men who have devoted their lives to preaching the gospel of peace, indeed the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Responding to reporters' questions, Elder Ballard said the Church will continue to do missionary work and will do all it can to protect the more than 37,500 missionaries serving throughout the world.
He said missionaries in Bolivia were confined to their apartments for a few days until the FBI released the findings from its investigation into the killings.
Asked if the Church would endeavor to make missionaries less visible, the apostle said that he did not know how that could be done. He added that by virtue of their clean-cut, neat appearance, missionaries stand out whether they be Bolivian or American.
We were shocked that two missionaries, preaching the gospel of peace, were gunned down by automatic weapons fire May 24 as they were returning to their humble apartment in LaPaz, Bolivia.
Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball of Wanship, Utah, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson of Wellington, Utah, were on the Lord's errand, spreading the news of eternal life when mortal death ended their missions here on earth.
United in mourning, Latter-day Saints throughout the world grieve together. We weep with the families of Elder Ball and Elder Wilson. We feel of their sorrow and grope for appropriate, consoling words.
They were only 20. They became martyrs in the service of God - valiant men whose testimonies had placed them in such a circumstance that their lives would be taken.
They had been on their missions less than a year, but they had already developed a great love for the people to whom they had been called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their letters home were filled with expressions of love for the Bolivian people and for the missionary work they were performing.
They were among their beloved new friends, when they drew their last breaths.
Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13.)
Elder Ball and Elder Wilson had laid down, as it were, their personal lives when they accepted calls to join the ranks of missionaries sent out into all the world to preach the gospel. They turned from their own interests and individual pursuits in order to serve the Lord with the full extent of their ability. When they made their decision to serve, their thoughts were on the good they could accomplish; little did they know that they would be assassinated by terrorists, that they would literally lay down their lives in their field of labor.
I n his last speech to the Nauvoo Legion a few days before his martyrdom, Joseph Smith said: "I do not regard my own life. I am ready to be offered a sacrifice for this people; for what can our enemies do? Only kill the body, and their power is then at an end. Stand firm, my friends; never flinch . . . for he that is afraid to die for the truth, will lose eternal life. . . ." (History of the Church, 6:500.)
Even with all our understanding of the gospel, knowledge of the scriptures and experience in human behavior, we cannot fully understand why such tragedies are allowed to happen. We cannot fully explain why the Lord's servants - faithful saints throughout history and now Elder Ball and Elder Wilson - are permitted to die at the hands of the enemies of truth and righteousness.
In the 14th chapter of Alma is an account of how Amulek pleaded with Alma to exercise the power of the priesthood and save the righteous people from being burned to death. Amulek could see only from the human and mortal perspective. Alma, impressed by the Spirit and seeing the eternal perspective, said:
"The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer . . . that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just." (Alma 14:11.)
I n our grief, we rely on the balm of comfort found in the scriptures and gospel principles that Elder Ball and Elder Wilson had devoted their lives to teaching. We derive some comfort in knowing that those who die in the Lord's service are caught up in His glory.
"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." (Rev. 14:13.)
How we wish this great tragedy had never happened. How we wish Elder Ball and Elder Wilson, at the end of their appointed missions in Bolivia, would have been able to have returned to their loved ones in Utah to pick up the threads of their personal lives, that they would have been permitted to marry worthy young women in a temple of the Lord and raise children in righteousness.
But we, as Amulek, see only the short-term consequences of the evil actions taken against these two young men. As Alma, we must look beyond here and now; we must turn to eternity for our comfort. As we do so, we realize Elder Ball and Elder Wilson are not dead to the Lord, or in the eternal perspective, to their families. They live. Their missions have not ended. Their field of labor only has changed.
06/03/1989 . . . BOLIVIANS EXPRESS LOVE FOR MISSIONARIES
Love and a reaffirmation of faith were expressed at a special memorial service for Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson held May 28 in the La Paz Sopocachi stake center.
More than 1,500 Church members and friends of the Church, including government officials, press representatives, Church leaders and 120 missionaries attended the service, the largest ever held in the stake center, said La Paz Bolivia Mission Pres. Steven R. Wright.
"A great outpouring of love was expressed for the missionaries," he reported. "There has been an overwhelming response from members, not just locally but nationally." He said condolences of stake presidents and regional representatives were similar to the expressions made by the press and civic leaders.
"A great deal of grief was expressed; they were two of our best," he said. "But now our missionaries are ready to get back to work. They are anxious to return to their normal activities."
He said members reacted in "total shock and horror" to the incident, and many came to the mission offices to be consoled in their grief. Government leaders also visited the offices to offer their consolations. The considerable press coverage has been "extremely favorable to the Church," he said.
At the services, Pres. Wright quoted from Joseph Smith, saying "no unhallowed hand could stop the work of the Lord."
Pres. Sixto Quispe of the La Paz Constitucion Bolivia Stake, expressed deep condolences to the missionaries' families, and said, "We should not fear. We must go forward with progress and not falter, nor fall back."
Bishop Rene Lopez of the Villa Victoria Ward, where the missionaries were laboring, shared his "great sorrow and anguish in behalf of the members for this terrible tragedy," and renewed his commitment to missionary work.
Also sharing testimonies at the service were Philippe Kradolfer, regional representative; and former companions of Elders Wilson and Ball.
05/31/1989 . . . ELDER WILSON IS PRAISED FOR GIVING ULTIMATE SACRIFICE IN CITY OF PEACE
When the last car pulled away, the hillside cemetery fell silent.
Wind rushed through the pine trees clustered near Elder Todd Wilson's grave, ruffling the seven carnations that lay in a row on the top of his casket - a final tribute from the brothers who carried him there. A meadowlark called from the pasture to the south.
Only the wind and the call of the bird broke the silence. Elder Todd Ray Wilson was at peace.
He found that peace through a violent assassination in a troubled city half a hemisphere away. Ironically, the name of the city where he was gunned down - La Paz, Bolivia - means "The Peace."
President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the LDS Church's First Presidency, told the 700 mourners gathered at the Wellington stake center that the young missionary slain in the city of peace is himself at peace.
"I believe Todd has not tasted any bitterness in his passing," President Hinckley said. "Peace has come to him. A peace we know little of. That which is certain and good and beautiful."
President Hinckley, Elder L. Tom Perry, a member of The Quorum of the Twelve; Elder Russell Taylor, a member of the Utah South Area Presidency, and Elder Lyle Cooper, a regional representative, traveled to Wellington to represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the funeral.
President Hinckley and Elder Perry also spoke during the services.
Seventeen missionaries have been murdered since 1831, Elder Perry said. Elder Wilson gave the ultimate sacrifice while he spread the gospel message of hope, cheer and opportunity "to a nation that is so troubled, has so much poverty and so little hope," Elder Perry said.
Speakers paid tribute to the strength and testimony of the Wilson family. Roger Branch, president of the Wellington stake, said he interviewed Brad Wilson, Elder Wilson's younger brother, for his mission the night Elder Wilson was killed.
A few hours later, the church notified Branch of Elder Wilson's death. He and the family's bishop went to the Wilson home to tell Elder Wilson's parents their son was dead.
Brad was asleep on the couch, Branch said. He awoke when he heard his parents crying. "And then I saw an angel. Not from heaven, but from Earth. The bishop and I witnessed as Todd's mother went to Brad. She truly was an angel as she consoled her family. I wish that moment could stay with me forever."
Elder Wilson's brother, Dan, read passages from his brother's mission journal, which returned from Bolivia with his body.
"I know without a doubt that Jesus is the Christ. That this is the one and only true church," Todd wrote. "I know that my call was inspired of God and there is someone in Bolivia that only I can touch."
Like Joseph Smith, Elder Wilson has sealed his testimony with his blood and in so doing touched the lives of not one, but thousands of people.
"Missionaries are so dear to the entire church that when one is lost through death the entire church grieves," President Hinckley said.
Elder Wilson's siblings expressed gratitude for the letters they received from him the week before he died. The missionaries had to stay indoors on May 15 because of Bolivian elections, said Diane Christensen, Elder Wilson's sister.
Elder Wilson used that day to write letters to his parents and eight siblings - the last letters they received.
He was killed by machine-gun fire May 23 as he and his missionary companion, Elder Jeffrey Ball, returned to their apartment.
Other religions share the grief. President Hinckley read a prayer offered Sunday in behalf of the slain missionaries by Bishop George Bates, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.
President Hinckley and Elder Perry told the mourners that Elder Wilson's place in the kingdom of God is assured.
"Those who were murdered are worthy of the best which God, our Eternal Father, has to offer his sons and daughters under his eternal plan," President Hinckley said. "Of course you'll miss him. There will be days of loneliness and nights of longing. But there will also be comfort, that comfort which comes from him who said, "I, even I, am He who comforteth.' "
Many have died for the gospel. Thousands have given their lives, President Hinckley said.
"But only a few have been gunned down by hateful men who loved them not, nor loved the Lord nor his works. The names of Todd Wilson and his companion will be engraved forever in the history of this church as those who lived as faithful servants of God and died as martyrs to his eternal work."
Elder Wilson is survived by two parents and eight siblings. An older brother, Michael, died in infancy.
05/31/1989 . . . 2 SLAIN LDS MISSIONARIES HAVE `GONE HOME TO GOD'
The skies over the small rural cemetery rumbled as drops of much-needed moisture fell on the dusty road, where a dark-colored hearse traveled to the hilltop overlooking the lush valley and magnificent Wasatch Mountain range.
Then, as if symbolic of the solemn moment, the rain intensified and the crowd, seeking protection from rain and pain, huddled together.
"And the Lord wept," said Bishop Larry J. Vernon of the Wanship LDS Ward. Tears also filled the eyes of LDS Church officials and hundreds of residents whose sorrow was softened only with the assurance that Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball's mission of peace hadn't ended with his trip to that burial site.
"Jeff has gone home. He has gone home to God. He has gone home on a missionary transfer, and he will continue to spread the gospel," President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Tuesday.
"This young man whom we honor today is still on his mission. He has not been released; he carries on the spirit of missionary work."
President Monson affectionately took the arm of church President Ezra Taft Benson as they filed into the Coalville Stake Center, where more than 1,000 people gathered Tuesday to pay homage to the slain missionary.
"The Lord bless and keep you," said President Benson, who presided over the noon ceremony, also attended by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of Twelve, Elder Monte J. Brough of the Second Quorum of Seventy, Coalville Stake President Myron Richins and several other local church officials.
Like each speaker who sought to relieve the suffering of the family and friends Elder Ball left behind, President Benson reaffirmed his love and commitment to God's work and especially to the church's missionary program - ever growing in Bolivia and throughout the rest of the world.
LDS missionaries are now teaching the gospel in 88 independent nations and 22 territories, Elder Ballard reported.
"The Lord is opening the way for many other nations to receive the word of the restoration," he said. "So the great cause of missionary work must go forward."
On behalf of the church's general authorities, Elder Ballard expressed shock and sadness over the senseless May 24 killings of Elder Ball, of Wanship, and his companion, Elder Todd Ray Wilson, of Wellington, Carbon County, in La Paz, Bolivia.
While believed to be the first LDS missionaries killed by terrorists, the 20-year-old companions were not the first LDS missionaries whose lives were lost in the service of the Lord.
"Since the day of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we've had approximately 447,969 missionaries serve in the world," Elder Ballard said. "Of those 447,969, (some) 525 have lost their lives while serving as full-time missionaries.
"When you contemplate that number, it appears that the safest place in the whole world is to be on a full-time mission."
It's where Jeff Ball had wanted to be.
The North Summit High School graduate, star athlete and student body leader sold the Jeep "he dearly loved" to help finance his mission to Bolivia, "where he left a strong heritage."
"He left a crew of missionaries who said to reporters, "We will carry on in the spirit of our fallen comrade,' " President Monson said. "I feel every confidence that the work will go forward with greater acceleration and with a truer spirit," as a result of the respect, love and confidence the missionaries had for their comrades.
Elder Jeff Ball, who was described by his sister Wendy as a "powerful authority who also had a caring soft side he tried to hide but couldn't," was the all-American boy.
His untimely death touched the lives of every family that has sent a missionary into the field.
President Monson told Alfred Brent and Lois Joyce Ball, Elder Ball's parents, that there isn't a missionary parent in the church who hasn't wept a tear over the passing of the two young men.
"It is no small thing to have every missionary parent praying for you and knowing that your hearts are filled with sorrow," he told the Balls, whose strength has fortified others in the small North Summit communities.
"You entrusted your son to our care and to the care of the Lord," President Monson continued. "While all did not work out as we had hoped it would, I think your son would say, "Do not grieve, mother. Do not sorrow, father.
"I am on the Lord's errand and he may doeth with me as he sees fit.' "
Elder Ball, who died nearly one year after he entered the mission field, is survived by his parents; his sister, Wendy, serving in the Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission, and brother, Greg.
A scholarship fund at North Summit High School has been established in his name. Contributions may be sent to First Interstate Bank, Coalville, UT 84017.
05/31/1989 . . . BOLIVIAN GOVERNMENT SHOCKED BY SLAYINGS
The assassination of two LDS missionaries last week upset Bolivians as much as it did Americans and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to a State Department official.
"The Bolivian government - from the president on down - is shocked by the crime," Helen Lane, Bolivian desk officer for the State Department, told reporters after a meeting with Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah.
She added that Bolivian President Victor Paz Estenssoro even met personally with the U.S. ambassador to express his outrage at the slayings and send condolences.
"The work of Mormon missionaries is quite well regarded down there. Several newspapers have written editorials condemning the murders," Lane said. "It was a shock because violent crime is not all that common in Bolivia. These were the first assassinations in memory, at least in several years."
Meanwhile, Lane said FBI and Bolivian police investigations into the slayings are continuing - and the State Department is considering offering a reward for information about the crime.
Owens, who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "The murders took place in a very poor area, and the people are afraid to come forward with information. We hope a reward will encourage them."
Lane said the reward "is a possibility and I think it will be done. I hope it will do the trick."
Lane also expressed her personal views about theories about who may have committed the killings and why - but stressed the FBI is seeking to sort through evidence before it proposes its own theories.
She said she feels the missionaries were targeted because they were visible foreigners with a predictable routine, which allowed the killers to easily know when the pair would arrive home so they could wait and kill them.
She said the prevailing theory is that the left-wing Armed Liberation Front of Zarate Willka probably committed the killings because its notes claiming responsibility for them were delivered to newspapers within a half-hour of the crimes.
She said she personally does not believe the theory some espouse that the slayings could have ties to Bolivia's drug trade.
She said LDS Church officials had been in contact with embassy officials about action that the church may take to protect its missionaries.
If the killers are captured, Lane said they would probably be tried in Bolivia and not extradited to the United States to face terrorism charges. She said she believes Bolivian courts would adequately bring them to justice.
05/30/1989 . . . FBI SENT TO BOLIVIA TO PROBE SLAYINGS
As funerals were held Tuesday for two LDS missionaries who were gunned down in Bolivia, fellow missionaries huddled in their rooms, and an FBI team was sent to Bolivia to help investigate the tragedy.
Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, Coalville, and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Carbon County, were to be buried Tuesday. Their deaths last week are believed to be the first politically motivated killings of missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Art Kingdom, aide to Rep. Wayne Owens, said the State Department informed Owens' office that an FBI investigative team has been sent to Bolivia, which is allowed by U.S. law any time an American citizen is killed by terrorists.
The State Department also told Owens' office that it has no theory about what type of group committed the killings - for which the little-known, anti-American Armed Liberation Front of Zarate Willka claimed responsibility.
Kingdom said the State Department reported that speculation that the killers might have ties to Bolivia's drug traffic were "Bolivian theories" and that the United States would not develop its own theories until the FBI has a chance to gather and evaluate evidence.
Owens also planned a late afternoon news briefing with Robert Gelbard, the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, and other state department officials about the situation, Kingdom said.
He added that U.S. embassy officials in Bolivia, during meetings with missionaries last week, urged them to keep a low profile and to alter daily, routine schedules to make themselves less of a target.
Meanwhile, an LDS Church spokesman said Tuesday that missionaries in Bolivia are remaining in their quarters until further decisions are made by church officials about when they will return to their assignments.
Jerry Cahill said the missionaries are safe and in good spirits and attended church services as usual on Sunday.
"The situation is still being evaluated, but the missionaries are safe and in good spirits," Cahill said. "All of the missionaries are secure and accounted for, and the mission president is in regular contact with them."
Those in La Paz held a memorial service for two of their brethren who were shot down outside their apartment last week.
LDS Church missionaries in Bolivia are still remaining in their quarters until further decisions are made by church officials as to when the men and women will return to their assignments, a church spokesman said Tuesday.
Jerry Cahill said the missionaries are safe and in good spirits and attended church services as usual on Sunday.
"The situation is still being evaluated, but the missionaries are safe and in good spirits," Cahill said. "All of the missionaries are secure and accounted for, and the mission president is in regular contact with them."
Those in La Paz held a memorial service for two of their brethren who were shot down outside their apartment last week.
Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, Coalville, and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Carbon County, were killed Wednesday in what is believed to have been the first politically motivated killings of missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Funerals for the two elders were held in Utah Tuesday.
05/29/1989 . . . BODIES OF SLAIN MISSIONARIES ARE FLOWN HOME FROM BOLIVIA
The bodies of two missionaries killed in La Paz, Bolivia, were returned to Utah Sunday afternoon.
Family members and officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered on the tarmac as Delta Flight 705 brought home the bodies of slain elders Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, of Wanship, and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, of Wellington.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of the Twelve Apostles issued a statement expressing the sympathy and compassion of the First Presidency of the church.
"These missionaries returned here today have performed a noble service in the country of Bolivia," said Elder Ballard. "We pray hearts will be softened and that never again such a tragedy will occur." He reiterated that the LDS Church preaches a "gospel of peace."
"This tragedy was totally unprovoked," said Elder Ballard. "It came out of the blue."
Elder Ballard said the church has great concern for the missionaries remaining in Bolivia and that they are still being confined to their apartments. "We'll probably be in a holding pattern for a few days," said Elder Ballard."We are concerned over the nature of the violence."
The two missionaries were assassinated as they were about to enter their apartment Wednesday evening. A terrorist group calling itself the Armed Liberation Front of Zarate Willka is claiming responsibility for the murders.
"Missionaries will continue to serve in Bolivia," said Elder Ballard. "But we want families to know the church is doing all it can to protect missionaries throughout the world."
Members of the Ball family were present Sunday, including Elder Ball's parents, his brother, a grandfather and his sister, Wendy, who is taking a leave from her mission in the Guatemala-Guatemala City North Mission for her brother's funeral.
Funeral services for both missionaries will be held Tuesday at noon. Services for Elder Wilson will be held in the Wellington LDS Stake Center, and services for Elder Ball will be at the Carbon LDS Stake Center.
Craig Davis, West Valley City, was at the airport returning from a business trip to Baltimore as the missionaries' bodies were placed in the two waiting hearses.
As he watched, tears came to his eyes. His son, Jason Davis, is currently serving a mission in La Paz.
"My wife was just coming home from an appointment when she received a call telling her that two missionaries were killed in Bolivia," said Davis. "After she found out Jason was all right, she still had to call him, "just to hear his voice,' she said."
Craig Davis said his son's major concern was for his contacts, those people he was proselyting. "He knows that if they leave now it will be quite some time before anyone contacts them again (about the church)," said Davis. The younger Davis was sent to La Paz about a month ago.
"Their (the missionaries') biggest concern isn't for themselves, and I'm sure that's part of the problem," said Davis. "It tests your faith. It really does."
Elder Davis has about 14 months left on his mission. "I just don't know how I'm going to live through the next year if he stays there," said his mother.
05/29/1989 . . . MEMORIAL SERVICE IS HELD IN LA PAZ FOR 2 SLAIN ELDERS
A memorial service was held in La Paz Sunday for two missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were slain by terrorists May 24.
Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, Coalville and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Carbon County, were murdered by automatic weapons fire, the first politically motivated killings of LDS missionaries. The victims are the sons of Alfred Brent Ball and Lois Joyce Bates Ball, and Arvil Gray Wilson and Elaine Bunderson Wilson.
Terrorists who claimed responsibility sent a letter to a La Paz newspaper calling the missionaries "Yankee invaders" and attacked "their local slaves."
"Yesterday the missionaries (in Bolivia) did participate in their regular worship services," LDS church spokesman Jerry Cahill said in Salt Lake City on Monday. "They had a memorial service for the missionaries in La Paz.
"The situation is still being evaluated, but the missionaries are safe and in good spirits."
He noted that all LDS missionaries in that country have been instructed to remain in quarters until further notice. "All of the missionaries are secure and accounted for, and the mission president is in regular contact with them."
05/27/1989 . . . MISSIONARIES RESOLVE TO STAY IN BOLIVIA
The tears have finally begun to dry. But even three days after two of their missionary companions were gunned down by leftist terrorists, the numbing shock remains.
"We're doing better today than yesterday," said one missionary.
Not subsiding are the simultaneous feelings of fear and resolve - fear that other LDS missionaries might also be targeted for murder and resolve to finish their religious work in Bolivia.
"I speak for the other missionaries when I say I'm scared right now. We're real scared," said Elder Mark Huffaker, who worked three months with Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, one of the two victims.
"But I'm going to finish my mission, and I think I speak for others when I say we all want to finish our missions. It is what we were sent here to do."
Elder Ball, 20, Coalville, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, where gunned down by automatic weapons fire about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday as they returned to their apartment in a poor section of the Bolivian capital.
Meanwhile Friday, police in La Paz questioned witnesses who saw a yellow vehicle speed away after the two missionaries were shot.
A leftist terrorist group calling itself Armed Liberation Front of Zarate Willka claimed responsibility.
Interior Minister Eduardo Perez Beltran said the group "does not have a political affiliation and one cannot therefore speak of the existence of guerrillas in the country. We are facing something that could also come from . . . the cocaine trade."
U.S. Embassy officials, who are cooperating in the investigation, say the responsibility is not yet clear.
But the terrorist group has threatened more violence against Americans, whom they blame for the country's political and economic troubles.
That threat is understandably disturbing to the missionaries who remain in Bolivia.
"We're all kind of scared right now," echoed Elder Brad Giles, who served two months with Elder Wilson. "I guess it's fear of the unknown. But everyone still wants to finish their missions."
Mission President Steven Rich Wright said the fear is natural, but added the tragic experience can now be used to further missionary work in Bolivia.
"We have great confidence that they have gone on to greater assignments, that they are in the Lord's hands," he said. "And we are confident that their loss will inspire us to work harder and do more."
Some 400 missionaries from the Bolivia La Paz and Bolivia Chochabamba missions remained indoors Friday but were scheduled to resume proselyting during daylight hours Saturday.
It is likely the elders will approach their service with a whole new attitude. "We're going to be paying more attention to what's going on around us," said Elder Huffaker. "We will be a lot more cautious in everything we do."
While emotionally subdued, the missionaries remembered their companions with fondness and respect.
"Just from working with him (Elder Ball) I could tell he loved the people," said Elder Huffaker. "That was why he was here. He talked constantly about how to help investigators, how to have the Lord's spirit with us more.
"He pushed himself real hard. Sometimes he would get down on himself because he would think he wasn't measuring up to what he should be. But he was an awesome missionary. He was one of the hardest workers I ever knew."
When missionaries talk about Elder Ball, they frequently use words like "awesome" and "great."
"He was. He'd do anything for the investigators," said Elder Huffaker. "If they needed something done, he'd help them with it. He was a caring missionary. He cared for others more than himself. And that is the great loss."
Said President Wright, "Elder Ball, though large in physical stature, was a very gentle loving person with an unusual enthusiasm for life and missionary work."
Elder Wilson also was remembered for his hard work and love of the people. "He always wanted to work a little longer than anyone else," said Elder Giles. "He was always asking "what do you need, what can we help you with?' He always wanted to be a friend to everybody, even those who didn't want to listen to what we had to say."
Elder Wilson also had a lot of patience with those investigating the message he carried, Elder Giles said. Even when someone would express doubts or lose interest, he would go back time and again, spending whatever time was needed to explain the message better.
President Wright remembered Elder Wilson as "a young man full of love for people, a young man who dedicated himself faithfully to the preaching of the gospel. He was an obedient, diligent missionary."
Elder Giles recounted a Friday morning conversation with a woman converted to the LDS faith through Elder Wilson's efforts. "He gave his life that I might have mine," the woman said.
"A lot of people feel that way," said Elder Giles. "He loved the people and the people loved him back."
"Even though there is fear among the missionaries and some concern, we will continue forward with faith and energy," he pledged. "As Joseph Smith said, "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from going forward.' Our rededication to the missionary effort will stand as a tribute to these two fine young men."
05/27/1989 . . . TWO MISSIONARIES SERVING IN BOLIVIA ARE ASSASSINATED BY TERRORISTS
Two missionaries serving in the Bolivia LaPaz Mission were assassinated by terrorists late Wednesday, May 24, as they were returning to their apartment in LaPaz.
Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, were gunned down by automatic weapons fire about 10:20 p.m. Bolivia time (8:20 MST).
Elder Ball was the son of Alfred Brent and Lois Joyce Bates Ball of the Wanship Ward, Coalville Utah Stake. He entered the Missionary Training Center last June. Elder Wilson, who entered the Missionary Training Center last July, was the son of Arvil Ray and Elaine Bunderson Wilson of the Wellington 3rd Ward, Wellington Utah Stake.
Newspapers in LaPaz said a group identified as Armed Forces of Liberation has claimed responsibility for the slayings.
"We are heartbroken at this terrible tragedy that has occurred," said Mission Pres. Steven Rich Wright. "It's a terrible unprovoked attack on innocent victims who have nothing to do with the political and social philosophies of this or any other group."
Pres. Wright said the missionaries were apparently chosen at random. A small, yellow compact car drove by the complex, firing into a crowd with 9 mm weapons.
The mission president was notified of the shooting incident by another missionary, who also lives in the apartment complex, and immediately went to the scene. One of the elders died immediately; the other died 10 to 20 minutes later en route to a local hospital.
American officials at the U.S. embassy in LaPaz were meeting May 25 to discuss the shooting.
05/27/1989 . . . FIRST PRESIDENCY GRIEVES OVER DEATHS OF 'MARTYRS'
The First Presidency on Thursday, May 25, issued the following statement concerning the death of two missionaries in LaPaz, Bolivia:
"We are grieved to learn of the assassination of two of our missionaries last evening in LaPaz, Bolivia. Information received indicates that Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball of Coalville, Utah, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson of Wellington, Utah, were gunned down in front of their living quarters as they were about to enter the front door.
"We regret that anyone would think that these representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have been sent to preach the gospel of peace, would be characterized as enemies of any group.
"They have died as martyrs in the cause of the Lord. We extend our love and sympathy to their families and pray that they may be comforted and sustained in this hour of tragedy."
05/26/1989 . . . ANGUISHED FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF SLAIN MISSIONARIES ASK `WHY?'
By JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells, Staff Writer and Arva Smith, Correspondent, A1
The question on the lips of family and friends of two LDS missionaries assassinated Wednesday in Bolivia is why "two good boys doing the Lord's work" are dead.
"This is something we can't explain. It takes something greater and more powerful than us," said Myron Alma Richins, president of the Coalville Utah Stake.
President Richins was a seminary teacher and close friend of Jeffrey Brent Ball, one of two Utah missionaries whose senseless deaths shook all church members who have sent loved ones to the mission field.
"It is going to take a great exhibition of faith to help the Ball family and members of the community and stake remember the value of the work he was involved in," President Richins said. "He was loved and respected. He had a purpose in life and he was working for it."
President Richins said he's received dozens of calls from concerned parents lacking the right words to inform their missionaries of the deaths.
"But all of them whom I talked to are still glad that their sons are where they are; they are putting their trust in the right individuals to make the decisions for them," he said.
Members' faith in the church's mass missionary program showed through the cloud of darkness that settled over the small communities of Kamas, Summit County, where Elder Ball lived for the past several years, and Wellington, Carbon County - home of his slain companion, Elder Todd Ray Wilson.
But the sadness remained.
Assassination - a frightening word seemingly reserved for presidents and political activists - had left its ugly scar.
"No one can comprehend it; it's just unbelievable. It's something that happens somewhere else to someone else's kids," said Jane Casper, an employee of Rafter-B Gas "N' Grub, the business owned by the Ball family.
"It seems creepy. It seems if he had been in a car accident we could have taken it much better. But to be cut down by a terrorist while doing what he thought was right and should be doing - it's very hard to take."
The overriding reaction of residents in the small towns where the missionaries had lived was one of shock.
"It's especially hard to believe that this would happen to someone on a mission," said Terry McQueen, an employee of the Spring Chicken Inn, one of the places where friends of the Ball family gathered to seek solace in each other's sorrow.
"People believe the Lord will protect you. Maybe it's wrong to think that way, but that's my feeling," she said, wiping away her tears. "He was there doing what the Lord wanted him to do, so why did this happen?"
In Wellington, a town of a little more than 2,000 residents - both LDS and non-LDS - with many bonds continued to show overwhelming support for the Wilson family. Few tried to figure out the political implications of something they said "they just do not understand."
Rodger Branch, Wellington LDS Stake president, said there is no bitterness.
He said the Wilson family is taking comfort in the fact that "Todd was where he wanted to be, was happy and excited about his mission. He loved it and was willing to serve."
President Richins described Elder Ball in the same manner.
Arvil Wilson, a mine electrician in the coal-rich mountains near his Wellington home, said his son wrote often to tell the family how much he enjoyed the country and proselyting.
"He loved the people," the elder Wilson said, adding that his son and Elder Ball had achieved one of the greatest conversion rates "of any pair of missionaries in the mission."
The men, both 20, had positively touched the lives of many - especially youths who Thursday openly mourned the deaths.
Co-workers of Elder Wilson wore black arm bands in the Wendy's restaurant in nearby Price. Jeff Richins and Paul Ferry, classmates of Elder Ball at North Summit High School in Coalville, fondly reflected on his successful athletic career and the weight-lifting bench on which fans had scratched in his name.
Elder Wilson was the seventh of 10 children and an honor graduate of Carbon High. During his few quarters at the College of Eastern Utah, he was the night manager of the Wendy's restaurant. But he dropped out of school and worked to save money for his mission.
His brother, Brad, is preparing to leave on a mission this summer.
Elder Ball, the second of three children, was a stocky 200-pound star athlete - an all-state football player and student body vice president.
His sister, Wendy, is a missionary in the Guatemala-Guatemala City North Mission, and his brother, Gregg, is preparing to enter the mission field.
Maxine Richins, the stake president's wife, said Wendy will be going home for the funeral but is not being released from her mission.
"She didn't want to conclude her mission," Mrs. Richins said.
05/26/1989 . . . WERE SLAYINGS REALLY BY LEFTIST TERRORISTS?
By Lee Davidson, Washington Bureau Chief and Jerry Spangler, Staff Writer, A1
U.S. officials are wondering openly whether it was actually leftist terrorists who gunned down two LDS missionaries Wednesday night or whether the murders were a facade for anti-American sentiments, perhaps even drug lords upset at U.S. efforts to eradicate the coca crop.
"Missionaries agitate both the left and right: the left, because they represent anti-communist America; the right because they proselytize the Indians, and (those on the right) want them left alone and unchanged. The right includes the big landowners and mine owners," said a staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
A Senate Foreign Affairs Committee official told the Deseret News the murders were
carried out by "a small clandestine group, and nobody seems to really have a handle on it yet . . .
"No one knows much about the ideology of the group, except that it issued a communique to several La Paz newspapers claiming responsibility for the missionary murders that shows it has anti-Yankee, anti-foreign
sentiments."
Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, Coalville, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Carbon County, were shot to death Wednesday night as they returned to their apartment in a poor neighborhood of La Paz. One died at the scene and the other died en route to a local hospital.
The victims were apparently chosen at random. Occupants of a small, yellow compact car drove by the apartment complex where the missionaries lived, firing into a crowd with 9mm weapons. No one else was injured.
Police said they have no suspects in the killings. The victims were among 400 LDS missionaries in Bolivia.
In a statement printed by a La Paz newspaper, the terrorists - members of an obscure group called the Armed Liberation Front of Zarate Willka - said, "The violation of our national sovereignty cannot go unpunished. The Yankee invaders who come massacre our fellow farmers are warned, as are their local slaves. We, the poor, have no other road than to rise up in arms. Our hatred is implacable and our war is to the death."
But State Department and congressional sources told the Deseret News they feel LDS missionaries are unpopular with both the right and left in Bolivian politics, and someone from either side could have committed the slayings and pinned it on the obscure Armed Liberation Front.
The terrorists who claimed responsibility for the murders are the ones who claimed responsibility for a dynamite attack last December on the motorcade of then-Secretary of State George Shultz. However, a Senate official said "the State Department has other suspects and aren't convinced the group did that one."
"If they found nothing about the attack on the secretary of state, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't find much on the murder of two Mormon missionaries," he said.
The terrorist group has also claimed credit for a December dynamite attack directed at the Bolivian congress, a bombing that blacked out La Paz recently and a bombing of an LDS chapel in Bolivia.
The State Department has notified all Americans residing in Bolivia about the attack and accompanying terrorist pledges for more violence. "We're trying to evaluate the situation and find out if it was just an isolated event," one official said.
Another said he was somewhat surprised by the attack. "Bolivia has had in recent times some isolated terrorist incidents, . . . but unlike some of its Andean neighbors, there is no state of insurgency. Generally, it's in a state of calm. That's in contrast in Peru and Colombia, where insurgents and terrorists have actual armies in the field fighting."
He also said the State Department believes Bolivia has a democratic form of government and that President Victor Paz Estenssoro is a "moderate and forward-thinking kind of leader who has Bolivia on an even keel."
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday that department officials in Bolivia were scheduled to meet with missionaries there to outline steps to better protect themselves. He said no further developments had been reported Friday morning.
While politics could have motivated the murders, some officials question whether the killings could have been drug related. The U.S. government is giving large amounts of aid to Bolivia to eradicate the coca crop from which cocaine is made.
"The single biggest concern for us and them in Bolivia is the impact that production of the coca and cocaine has on the body politic up here. The No. 1 U.S. interest in Bolivia is doing away with that problem," an aide to the House Foreign Affairs Committee said.
The State Department, Bolivian government and Utah's congressional delegation have condemned the attack and sent condolences to the victims' families.
"I was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic deaths," said Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah. "Such wanton and cowardly acts are among the most disgusting and callous actions of which human beings are capable.
"They are unforgivable under any circumstances but seem especially so when the victims are young men who have made great personal sacrifices and dedicated themselves to serve their church and fellow man."
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the killings "a heinous act" of terrorism. "The two missionaries were donating two years of their lives at their own expense to spread the gospel and aid the people of Bolivia.
"Their service was in no way political, and they were innocents in this despicable act."
They were the first politically motivated killings of Mormon missionaries in memory, said LDS Church spokesman Don LeFevre.
*****
(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)\
Bodies en route home
The bodies of the two Utah missionaries are being flown out of Bolivia Friday, the State Department said. The flight is due to arrive in Salt Lake City Saturday night. Funeral services for Elder Ball will be held Tuesday at noon in the Coalville Stake Center. Elder Wilson's funeral also will be Tuesday at noon in the Wellington Stake Center.
05/26/1989 . . . LESSONS FROM A TRAGEDY IN BOLIVIA
The news of the assassination of two young Utahns while they were trying to spread a message of love comes as a jolting reminder of how much that message is needed in an increasingly violent world.
LDS Church missionaries, Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, of Coalville, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, of Wellington, were gunned down by automatic weapons fire in the streets of La Paz, Bolivia, while walking home to their apartment late Wednesday.
Their deaths at the hands of suspected terrorists are a shocking demonstration of the dangers that sometimes face not just LDS missionaries in politically unstable countries but all people who go to various trouble spots to devote their hearts and souls to causes they believe in.
As Utahns pause this coming Memorial Day to remember loved ones who have passed away, may we all include Elders Ball and Wilson in our thoughts. And may the families of these two young men also be enveloped with an outpouring of sympathy and support. Though assassination is as rare and seemingly remote from Utah as it is senseless, every Utah parent who has lost a child can share the grief of these families. So can every Utahn who has lost a loved one through some other sudden, unexpected tragedy.
May Utahns remember not just the grim facts of international political life reflected in the deaths of Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson but also the happier lessons reflected in their willingness to serve others and the other fine principles they stood for. Remember, in other words, that what counts is not how they died but how they lived. So it is with all of us.
05/25/1989 . . . 2 LDS MISSIONARIES ASSASSINATED IN BOLIVIA
By JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells and Jerry Spangler, Staff Writers, A1
Two missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were assassinated by terrorists late Wednesday as they were returning to their apartment in La Paz.
Elder Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, Coalville, Utah, the son of Alfred Brent Ball and Lois Joyce Bates Ball, and Elder Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington, Utah, son of Arvil Gray Wilson and Elaine Bunderson Wilson, were gunned down by automatic weapons fire about 10:20 p.m. Bolivia time (8:20 MDT).
They were the first politically motivated killings of Mormon missionaries in memory, said LDS Church spokesman Don LeFevre.
"We are heartbroken at this terrible tragedy that has occurred," said Steven Rich Wright, president of the Bolivia La Paz Mission. "It's a terrible unprovoked attack on innocent victims who have nothing to do with the political and social philosophies of this or any other group."
LDS church buildings have been the target of at least one previous attack by the Armed Liberation Front of Zarate Willka, a radical leftist terrorist group. President Wright said the missionaries were apparently chosen at random.
A small, yellow compact car drove by the complex, firing into a crowd with 9mm weapons. No one else was injured.
In a statement printed by El Matunino Ultima Hora de la Paz, a La Paz newspaper, the terrorists said, "The violation of our national sovereignty cannot go unpunished. The Yankee invaders who come to massacre our fellow farmers are warned, as are their local slaves. We, the poor, have no other road than to rise up in arms. Our hatred is implacable, and our war is to the death."
Police said they have no suspects in the killings. No further details on the shooting were immediately available.
The mission president was notified of the shooting incident by another missionary who also lives in the apartment complex and immediately went to the scene. One of the elders died immediately; the other died 10-20 minutes later en route to a local hospital.
Elder Ball arrived in the mission in June, while Elder Wilson arrived in July.
Mission presidents for both the Bolivia La Paz and the Bolivia Cochabamba missions have ordered all missionaries to remain indoors until further notice from the church.
American officials at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz were meeting Thursday to discuss the incident.
The Liberation Front was unknown until the group claimed responsibility for an August assassination attempt against then-Secretary of State George Shultz, who was in La Paz for talks with government officials. A bomb exploded near vehicles carrying him, his wife and members of his delegation. No one was injured in the attack.
The leftist group also claimed responsibility for a power outage in October and is believed responsible for the bombing of an LDS chapel, U.S. Ambassador Richard Gilberd told President Wright.
Families, church leaders and friends of the two young men expressed tremendous shock over the senseless deaths.
"His parents are doing exceptionally well under the circumstances," said Myron Alma Richins, president of the Coalville Utah Stake, who notified the Balls Thursday at 1 a.m. of their son's death.
President Richins, who was Elder Ball's seminary teacher for four years, described the young man as "what every parent would want _ an ideal young man; very caring to others."
Elder Ball was a graduate of North Summit High School in Coalville and all-state football player. President Richins said Elder Ball "loved his mission."
"He wrote frequently expressing how much he appreciated the opportunity to serve and was doing a great job," President Richins said. "He had great love for what he was doing, and I appreciate the association I had with this young man."
Elder Ball entered the Missionary Training Center on June 1, 1988. President Richins said that Mrs. Ball was preparing a card for "hump day" _ Elder Ball's one-year anniversary in the mission field _ when notified of her son's death.
Elder Ball, who was born Dec. 8, 1968, is survived by a brother Greg, 18; and a sister, Wendy, a missionary in the Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission.
Elder Wilson was remembered as a quiet, unassuming young man who looked forward to his mission above all else. He did not play sports at Carbon High School, where he graduated in 1987, preferring instead to earn money for his mission.
"He worked at Wendy's (Old Fashion Hamburgers) all last year to earn money for his mission, and he worked late, late at night to do it," said Richard Morely, Elder Wilson's teacher at East Carbon Seminary.
Ironically, Elder Wilson's younger brother, Brad, was discussing a potential mission call with Wellington Stake President Roger Branch just two hours before news was received of his brother's death. An older sister already served a mission.
"I taught him in seminary, I home- taught him, I was his bishop," said President Branch. "I cried as if he were my own son. We're all very emotionally hurt. But we're all doing fine, the family's doing fine. It hurts, but there is no anger, no meanness."
"Todd was a fine gentleman," said Morely. "He was a quiet, good student who looked forward to his mission. His dad was a coal miner and had been out of work, so Todd earned most of the money himself for his mission. There was no doubt that he would ever go."
Both missionaries lived and worked in a poor neighborhood in northern La Paz. The church has about 400 missionaries and 40,000 church members in Boliva.
Salt Lake Tribune: (Archive Keywords-Ball and Wilson and Bolivia)
BOLIVIA ARRESTS REBEL IN '89 MURDER OF 2 LDS MISSIONARIES (7/21/1992)
by Michael Phillips Page A1
Police in La Paz, Bolivia, have arrested the alleged triggerman who gunned down two 20-year-old LDS missionaries in a 1989 protest against ``Yankee invaders.'' Jhonny Justino Peralta Espinoza, leader of the guerrilla group that claimed responsibility for the killings, was arrested Sunday at his mother's home.
``He was very sick and thought he was dying,'' Marco Antonio Oviedo, sub-secretary of the interior said Monday. ``He thought this was the last chance he might have to see his mother. We've been staking her house out for years.'' After gunning down Jeffrey B. Ball of Coalville and Todd R. Wilson of Wellington, the Zarate Willka guerrillas delivered a statement to La Paz newspapers.
``Yankees and their Bolivian lackeys' . . . violation of our national sovereignty will not remain unpunished,'' it read. ``The Yankee invaders who come to massacre our peasant brethren are warned . . . there remains no other path of the poor than rising up in arms.'' Brent and Joyce Ball visited La Paz after their son's death, hoping to cope with their anger by meeting the impoverished people their son served. Now they say they feel no rancor.
``I hope this arrest shows them that murder is no way to solve anything,'' said Mrs. Ball. ``Maybe it will help discourage violence and get them to look for other ways to relieve their suffering.'' Added Mr. Ball: ``It [the shooting] didn't do any good, and it probably had the reverse effect.'' The guerrillas killed the missionaries after failed attempts to assassinate U.S. government officials, said Mr. Oviedo. The Zarate Willka rebels are blamed for the 1988 bombing attempt against former Secretary of State George Shultz and an attempt on the life of a U.S. ambassador.
``It's simple,'' he said. ``Missionaries make much easier targets. They are not as well-protected.'' The attack came during a 1989 strike against Bolivia's government, which was under U.S. pressure to limit peasant rights to grow coca and had stepped up eradication efforts. Coca is used to make cocaine.
Peralta's group, named for a 19th-century Bolivian Indian hero, claims to represent the country's Indian majority.
Before dawn on May 24, three people in a yellow Volkswagen shot the missionaries as they walked along a narrow, cobblestone street from their apartment to a church center.
Five guerrillas were captured and await sentencing. Peralta was tried and convicted in absentia, and the U.S. Embassy had offered $500,000 for information leading to his capture. Two other leaders of the group still are at large. Don LeFevre, a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, praised Bolivian police.
``Our sympathies are with the individual because of his apparent health problems, but we commend the Bolivian authorities for their persistence in the pursuit of justice,'' he said.
The Utah-based church has more than 8.1 million members worldwide, and sends out thousands of missionaries each year.
LDS CHURCH IS A TOP TARGET OF TERRORISTS (1/18/92)
By Peter Scarlet Page A8
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a favorite target of terrorists abroad, who consider it a U.S. institution. In fact, only Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. is attacked more often, according to University of Mississippi Professor Chester Quarles. Mr. Quarles, who tracks attacks on Westerners for his Project Safe, attributes the high incidence of terrorism to the Mormon Church's missionary zeal.
Guerrillas perceive the church's proselyting success as a threat to traditional society, he said.
``You're the most mission-minded church on the face of the earth,'' Mr. Quarles said, speaking of the LDS missionary network.
The LDS Church does not use Project Safe, but it does train missionaries to avoid situations that would put them at risk. Missionaries are instructed to avoid political discussions and activists, said church spokesman Don LeFevre.
``In the event of political disturbances in an area where they are serving, the missionaries are counseled to avoid such gatherings and demonstrations,'' he said.
``Our mission presidents instruct their missionaries, regardless of where they are assigned in the world, to conduct themselves with dignity and with respect for local laws and customs. They are sent out in the world solely to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ,'' said Mr. LeFevre.
During the last several years, Mormon Church members have been the target of numerous attacks in Latin America. In May 1989, two missionaries from Utah -- Jeffrey Brent Ball, 20, Coalville, and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington -- were gunned down in the Bolivian capital of La Paz. A terrorist group claimed responsibility. In 1990, three Peruvian missionaries were killed in Peru.
Guerrillas have bombed Mormon chapels in Colombia, Chile and Peru. In 1990, a group claimed credit for detonating 66 bombs at LDS facilities in Chile.
Mr. LeFevre said terrorists don't perceive the church as a worldwide religion.
``Those who claimed responsibility for the attacks have said their actions are protests against the United States. They apparently incorrectly view our church as a U.S. church,'' he said.
Mr. LeFevre said the church is a worldwide organization with no ties to the U.S. or any other government.
An attack on a church building in Chile, he said, is an attack on a Chilean church and causes suffering and inconvenience for Chileans who worship there. ``The same is true with other countries. In Peru, our church is a Peruvian church. In Bolivia, it is a Bolivian church,'' he said.
Mormon Missions Less Dangerous Than in the Past (4/05/97)
By Peter Scarlet Page B2
Missionary service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints likely is safer today than it ever has been in the faith's 167-year history. In the mid-19th century, polygamy made Mormons unpopular in much of the United States, and Latter-day Saints did not help matters when they referred to the nation as ``Babylon.'' At the same time, Protestant missionaries in the Utah Territory trolled the eastern seaboard for money by lambasting Mormonism -- that is, when they weren't in Washington hardening the hearts of congressional committee members against the Mormons. In modern times, the church was rocked in the late 1980s by the murders of several missionaries targeted by political terrorists in Latin America. While the church's missionary department did not respond to requests for information concerning missionary safety, an examination of the faith's chronology indicates that 19th-century missionary activity was dangerous. When the numbers of missionaries -- 52,000 -- and the variety of places in which they serve -- 310 missions -- are taken into consideration, missionary service today is much less perilous than a century ago. Today safety is part of the missionary experience. It is one of the responsibilities of mission presidents, who are reminded of its importance before they set out on their callings. ``Safety was always one of our high priorities,'' recalled Ken Reber, who served as mission president of the Austria Vienna Mission from 1990-93. The mission included Albania and the former Yugoslavia. ``We always had an emergency plan which we regularly reviewed.'' While there was not much of a safety problem in Austria or Albania in the early 1990s, Reber's tenure accompanied the beginning of war in the former Yugoslavia when Croatia and Slovenia declared independence. ``When we felt things were tense, we had missionaries stay home or not wear their name tags,'' he said. ``When the war [in Yugoslavia] started, getting the missionaries out was a concern. We got them all out safely. It is not much of a problem when you have a plan.'' The church long has been adept at pulling its missionaries out of hot spots. When World War II began, the church successfully extricated its missionaries in Europe. And just last month, the LDS Church evacuated 33 missionaries in the Albania Mission as the country degenerated into political anarchy. Christopher Thomas, who served as a missionary in the Korea Taejon Mission in South Korea from the end of 1992 through 1994, characterized his missionary service as low-risk, even when he observed a student riot. ``It was probably the safest place to be,'' he said. ``Our lives were highly structured. We did no crazy things on weekends. We knew of other missionaries that had had some rocks thrown at them, but for the most part we felt safe.'' Thomas said missionaries were told to pay attention to safety rules not just to be safe but also to be ``good examples'' as representatives of the church. He and his companion saw the student demonstration one day near the end of his mission service while serving in Mokpo, a city in the southwest peninsula. ``We watched [from the second-floor window of a business] as businesses covered their windows and students came through with rocks, throwing them at police in suits that looked like Darth Vader,'' Thomas said. ``There was smoke, tear gas, lots of screaming. It was thrilling to see,'' he said. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states that missionaries ``may experience cultural shock, language barriers, health problems, personality adjustments, hostility, and sometimes severe persecution.'' Thomas generally agrees with the assessment. He points out that one of the biggest problems for missionaries in South Korea was cultural adjustment, ``getting used to it.'' To aid that process, he said new missionaries were paired with experienced ones. While the 19th-century church called married men to serve missions of indeterminate length, most of today's missionaries -- about 76 percent -- are single men between 19 and 26. About 18 percent of missionaries are single women and 7 percent are older married couples with no dependent children. The young male missionaries serve two years; the women 18 months. It is a far cry from the 19th-century church. There were only about 300,000 Mormons at the turn of the century, and far fewer missionaries, missions and countries where the church operated. But missionary service could be dangerous -- sometimes fatal. In his recent book, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power, historian D. Michael Quinn recounts several incidents in which Mormon missionaries were killed. On May 13, 1857, Apostle Parley P. Pratt was killed in Arkansas by the disgruntled legal husband of Pratt's last plural wife. And an anti-Mormon mob killed missionary Joseph Standing on July 21, 1879. His companion, Rudger Clawson, survived. The incident propelled Clawson into the limelight when he returned to Utah. Later, President Lorenzo Snow would call Clawson to the Council of the Twelve Apostles. On Aug. 10, 1884, an anti-Mormon mob attacked a Sunday meeting of Mormons in Tennessee and killed four men, including missionaries William S. Berry and John H. Gibbs. This was the incident in which mission president B.H. Roberts, who became one of the church's best-known general authorities in the early 20th century, traveled to Tennessee in plainclothes to retrieve the men's bodies. The next murder of a missionary that Quinn reports occurred May 24, 1989, when political terrorists killed Elders Jeffrey B. Ball and Todd R. Wilson in La Paz, Bolivia. They are the first Mormon missionaries killed for political reasons; Bolivian authorities believed the assassins targeted Ball and Wilson largely because they were Americans. On May 7, 1990, missionary Gale Stanley Critchfield, 20, was stabbed to death in Dublin by an 18-year-old Irishman who followed him and his companion to their apartment, Quinn wrote. ``We wonder why, when a young man is called to serve the Lord, he isn't watched over so closely [that] his life is protected,'' said then First Presidency counselor Gordon B. Hinckley at Critchfield's funeral. ``We don't know why some things happen.'' On Aug. 22, 1990, missionaries Manuel Antonio Hidalgo and Christian Andreani Ugarte were shot and killed in Peru. David Clark Knowlton, an anthropologist and former Brigham Young University faculty member who studied Latin American terrorism directed at the LDS Church, said this kind of terrorism is ``pretty much gone'' these days. The church is more security-conscious and makes a greater effort in tracking activities that could threaten missionaries, he said. In addition, more of the church's missionaries in Latin America are Latin Americans than was the case in the late 1980s. But today's relative peace could change, Knowlton said. ``There is a lot of tension and it could explode,'' he said. ``My gut feeling is that missionaries are exposed and are at risk. Mormon missionaries make easy targets.''
Persecution of Mormon Missionaries Becomes Violent (4/07/91)
By Chris Jorgensen Page A3
Mormon missionaries have always been the occasional object of scorn and ridicule.
When morale sags, missionaries are fond of recalling a scripture from the Biblical Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." But that persecution has lately risen above insults and slammed doors - missionaries now are getting murdered and shot.
Since 1979, eight missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-day Saints have been killed, five of them in the last two years. And Mormon chapels all over the world have also been a target. Scores of LDS chapels, mostly in South America, have been bombed, burned and vandalized during the last several years.
It is a violent epidemic the church is struggling to deal with as its membership quickly spreads across the globe. There are currently more than seven million Latter-day Saints and 45,000 male and female missionaries scattered all over the planet, said LDS Church spokesman Don LeFevre.
Several years ago, Anglo and American missionaries in the most dangerous areas of Latin America, such as Peru and Bolivia, were transferred to other countries. The rest of those missionaries were given special instructions from the church's head of security on how to keep themselves safe.
But missionaries all over the world have always received basically the same advice. "They've always been encouraged to stay away from problems areas such as large crowds, protest demonstrations and that sort of thing," said Mr. LeFevre. "They've always been told to just be wise and prudent." The church's population is now growing large enough in the troubled areas like South America to have Latins proselyte in their own countries, he said. There are 125,000 Mormons in Peru.
Some of the violence directed at missionaries has been attributed to a decades-old rumor suggesting the church once allowed CIA agents to pose as missionaries in Latin America. A variation on the rumor has CIA agents using missionaries to gather intelligence for them.
"That's not true," responds Mr. Lefevre. "As far as I know that CIA business is an absolute myth. The church would never be a part of that. When missionaries are sent out, their full-time job is being a missionary." Missionaries are in no more danger than anyone else, said Mr.
LeFevre. Considering the thousands of missionaries now serving and the hundreds of thousands who have served, the incidents of violence and deaths are no higher than any other community that large.
The violence missionaries have suffered has not been directed toward them because of their faith, insisted Mr. LeFevre. Many of the attacks have focused on Mormon missionaries and chapels because the Mormon church is perceived as an American church. And some of the attacks have been random violence.
"An attack on one of our church buildings in Chile, in reality, is not an attack on the U.S. government," the church spokesman said.
"Rather, it is an attack on a Chilean church and results in suffering and inconvenience for the native Chileans who worship in that building. The same is true with other Latin countries. In Peru, our church is a Peruvian church. In Bolivia, it is a Bolivian church." The LDS church is anything but American these days, he said.
There are now Mormons in 100 countries and 25 territories.
In April of 1990, Yuri Dubinin, Soviet Ambassador to the United States, said Mormon missionaries had "absolute freedom" to proselyte in the Soviet Union. A church branch in Leningrad is thriving. Last December, the government of Ghana lifted a 17-month ban on Mormon church activities in the West Africa nation. And the church continues to gain popularity in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and parts of China.
Those Mormon missionaries who have been murdered or seriously wounded since 1979 include: o In August of 1990, two Peruvian missionaries, Elders Manuel Antonio Hidalgo, 22, and Christian Andreani Ugarte, 21, were shot and killed in Peru on their way to visit some local church members.
There have been no arrests.
o Gale Stanley Critchfield of Payson was stabbed to death in a Dublin Ireland suburb in May of 1990. His killer was caught and sentenced to nine years prison.
o David Hadley Read, San Francisco, was shot in the leg Dec. 27 1989 while serving a mission in the Dominican Republic. He was shot by two men on a motorcycle who fired three shots. The two suspects have not been located.
o Jeffery Brent Ball, 20, Wanship, and Todd Ray Wilson, 20, Wellington were gunned down May 25 1989 in front of their apartment in La Paz Bolivia. A left wing radical terrorist group called the Zarate Willka Armed Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the murders. Authorities speculated the pair were killed because they were Americans. The pair lived near a church that was severely damaged by a terrorist's bomb in 1988. Police have arrested no suspects.
oIn February on 1987 Roger Todd Hunt, 19, Las Vegas, was shot and killed while serving in Lisbon, Portugal. He was killed by a security guard who thought he had stolen a car.
oTwo women missionaries from Utah and Idaho were murdered and sexually assaulted in December of 1979 while serving in South Carolina.
M. Russell Ballard, "Duties, Rewards, and Risks," Ensign, Nov. 1989, 33
My brothers and sisters, since April's general conference, some of our missionaries have found themselves in
increasingly more difficult circumstances. As the adviser to the South America North Area Presidency, I was
saddened, as I know you were, at the news that two faithful missionaries, Elder Todd Ray Wilson and Elder
Jeffrey Brent Ball, lost their lives in Bolivia. The deaths of these two righteous young men while they were in the
service of the Lord caused the entire Church membership to mourn. We grieve also for other missionaries who
have died from illness or accident since the first of the year.
Our sorrow at the loss of any faithful missionary can be tempered by this declaration from the Lord himself: "And
whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal." (D&C 98:13.)
To all parents, family members, and friends of missionaries who have lost their lives while in the service of the
Master, we extend to you our love, gratitude, and prayers for comfort and peace.
With the permission of President Steven B. Wright of the Bolivia La Paz Mission, I share this special experience
that came to him in a dream: "I saw these two elders dressed in white, standing at the doors of a beautiful
building. They were greeting numerous people, who also were dressed in white as they entered the building. It
was obvious from their dress that those who entered were Bolivians. I envisioned the temple that will someday
be built in Bolivia. Elders Wilson and Ball were ushering those they had prepared to receive the gospel in the
spirit world into the temple to witness the vicarious ordinances being performed in their behalf. This dream has
been a great comfort to me and has helped me to understand and accept their deaths."
This glimpse by President Wright of the work of redemption beyond mortality is consistent with the heavenly
vision given to President Joseph F. Smith more than seven decades ago. He declared, "I beheld that the faithful
elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel
… in the great world of the spirits." (D&C 138:57.)
Trials and tribulations have confronted the Church ever since the beginning. The Prophet Joseph Smith said: "Hell
may pour forth its rage like the burning lava of Mount Vesuvius, or of Etna, or of the most terrible of the burning
mountains; and yet shall 'Mormonism' stand. Water, fire, truth and God are all realities. Truth is 'Mormonism.'
God is the author of it. He is our shield. It is by Him we received our birth. It was by His voice that we were
called to a dispensation of His Gospel in the beginning of the fullness of times. It was by Him we received the
Book of Mormon; and it is by Him that we remain unto this day; and by Him we shall remain, if it shall be for our
glory; and in His Almighty name we are determined to endure tribulation as good soldiers unto the end."
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938,
p. 139.)
So far this year, more than thirty-seven thousand faithful missionaries have been instrumental in bringing tens of
thousands of people to a knowledge of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These new members have
experienced a mighty change in their hearts and have "humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living
God." (Alma 5:13.)
Our missionaries have not participated in this great work without serious challenges, tribulations, and difficulties.
Parents of missionaries have always known the risk of losing a loved one serving in the mission field due to
accident or illness. Now, we must add to the risk of missionary service the possibility of acts of terrorism.
Terrorism is centuries old but perhaps has never before been so open and blatant nor had such extensive news
coverage.
Terrorism has many victims. They include the innocent and law-abiding people residing in a troubled region who
are striving to provide for their families and to do what is right. Missionaries live among the peoples of the world;
and even with the protection of the members, they also can become innocent victims of acts of violence. We
must not judge the people of any nation or region because of the irresponsible, cowardly acts of terrorism
perpetrated by a few.
Sometimes terrorists attack Church members or Church property because they believe, mistakenly, that the
Church represents the interests of a country. Contrary to such misguided beliefs, The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints has no past or present affiliation with any government agency of any country, including the
United States of America. In genuine Christian kindness and loving concern, missionaries and other Church
members offer to all sincere and law-abiding peoples nothing more or less than the restored gospel of Jesus
Christ. Sad experience has taught us that not all people accept these assurances of fact. Therefore, leaders and
members must be prepared for any event that may occur in the future.
The increased visibility of the Church in the world brings a variety of new challenges. However, you parents and
prospective missionaries have no reason to be fearful and to feel that serving a mission is unusually dangerous or
risky. Our records since 1981 reveal that the total number of missionaries who have lost their lives through
accident, illness, or other causes is very small. The life-style of Latter-day Saint missionaries before and during
their missions contributes to their health and safety. For example, the death rate of young male missionaries from
the United States serving worldwide is one-fifth the rate of young males of comparable age living in Utah. It is
one-seventh the rate of young males of comparable age in the general population of the United States. I do not
imply that missionary service is a guarantee of increased longevity, but missionaries obviously have a much lower
risk of death than others of comparable age.
The Church is making great efforts to safeguard the health and safety of missionaries by decreasing the likelihood
of illness and accident. In the past year, a highly qualified team of LDS doctors visited many of the missions in
developing nations and made important recommendations that have been adopted to improve missionary health.
We are doing and will continue to do all within our power to reduce any risks that could harm the missionaries.
However, in a world of free agency, the Church cannot eliminate all risk nor guarantee absolutely that a
missionary never will be ill, injured, or harmed.
The Missionary Department employs six former mission presidents who are on 24-hour-a-day call to serve
mission presidents and their missionaries. They respond immediately with the resources of the Church to assure
the well-being of missionaries and their families.
When a problem occurs, such as the recent unrest in Colombia, the First Presidency and the Council of the
Twelve, through the able leadership of the General Authority Area Presidencies, monitor conditions daily and
even hourly, if necessary.
Be assured that the safety and protection of missionaries always is a paramount concern. At the same time,
however, the Church cannot retreat from areas of the world that are in turmoil unless absolutely necessary.
Brothers and sisters, the charge from the Lord to "go ye therefore, and teach all nations" is a difficult one to fulfill.
(Matt. 28:19.)
The battle to bring souls unto Christ began in the premortal world with the war in heaven. (See Rev. 12:7.) That
same battle continues today in the conflict between right and wrong and between the gospel and false principles.
The members of the Church hold a frontline position in the contest for the souls of men. The missionaries are on
the battlefield fighting with the sword of truth to carry the glorious message of the restoration of the gospel of
Jesus Christ to the peoples of the earth. No war has ever been free of risk. The prophecies of the last days lead
me to believe that the intensity of the battle for the souls of men will increase and the risks will become greater as
we draw closer to the second coming of the Lord.
Preparing ourselves and our families for the challenges of the coming years will require us to replace fear with
faith. We must be able to overcome the fear of enemies who oppose and threaten us. The Lord has said, "Fear
not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot
prevail." (D&C 6:34.)
When I visited the missionaries in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador immediately after the tragedy, I was extremely
impressed with the deep love our missionaries feel for the people they are called to teach. Their intense desire to
continue serving the precious people of their mission is beyond description. Sometimes parents and family
members understandably voice worry, anxiety, or even feel alarm about the safety of their missionary sons or
daughters, but rarely, if ever, do we hear the missionaries express such concerns. They love and care deeply
about the people they are serving, and generally they want to continue in the service of the Lord. These
dedicated missionaries illustrate so powerfully for the rest of us that "there is no fear in love; but perfect love
casteth out fear." (1 Jn. 4:18.)
In many ways, brothers and sisters, the past sixty years in the Church have been relatively calm, compared to the
beginnings of the Restoration. Persecutions and tribulations have been minimal. Perhaps some of these recent
events are a toughening process to help us learn how to shoulder and not shrink from our responsibilities to
preach the gospel to all the peoples of the earth.
We parents need to begin early to prepare our children to have a strong, fervent testimony of the gospel. We
must possess the faith, the courage, and the commitment that our pioneer forefathers had if we are to continue
building up the kingdom of God on the earth.
Remember also that membership in the Church requires an understanding of the principle of sacrifice in the
service of the Lord. The Prophet Joseph Smith put it this way: "When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he
has for the truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make
this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, … he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal
life." (Lectures on Faith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985, p. 69.)
You remember what the Prophet Joseph wrote to Mr. John Wentworth, the editor of the Chicago Democrat
newspaper: "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing;
persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God
will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept
every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah
shall say the work is done." (History of the Church, 4:540.)
The Lord has not yet said the work is done, so we must continue moving forward. It is good to know that during
the four years that President Ezra Taft Benson has presided over the Church, more than eighty thousand
missionaries have been set apart to proclaim the glad tidings of the Restoration.
The work will continue to grow and prosper throughout the world. In recent years the Lord's servants have
unlocked the door and opened the work in the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.
They have opened many nations of Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, Zaire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland,
Ivory Coast, and Namibia; and Papua New Guinea. Thirteen nations and territories have been opened for
missionary work in just the past four years. Many others will be opened to the preaching of the gospel. Truly, no
unhallowed hand can stop the sacred work of proclaiming life and salvation to all nations and peoples, but this
work will not continue without challenges and risks.
The work of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in all the world will require knowledge, faith, sacrifice, and the
best efforts of every member of the Church. As the Prophet Joseph Smith said to the Saints in Nauvoo in 1842,
"Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Courage, … and on, on to the victory!" (D&C 128:22.) Today the
leaders of the Church echo these words of the Prophet Joseph.
Brothers and sisters, the missionaries need our faith and prayers. Pray fervently every day for their safety and
protection, for this is one very important way we all can support them in accomplishing their essential assignment
of proclaiming the gospel to all the world. I bear testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We are engaged
in his work. I testify that through the faith and prayers of all members of the Church, we will continue moving this
great work forward to the final victory. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Del análisis y compulsa de todos los datos y antecedentes investigados por la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la H. Cámara de Diputados, se ha
podido establecer la siguiente relación de hechos que, de acuerdo a la sistematización establecida, se la divide en los "grupos", sujetos a tratamiento
judicial:
1. CASO "FAL - ZARATE WILLCA"
Aunque judicialmente se designa como "Muertes de personas y atentados terroristas", (Diligencias de Policía Judicial, fs. 432 de obrados), el caso es más conocido
con el nombre "Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Zárate Willca", por haberse atribuido a los procesados militancia en esta organización.
Se trata de la detención y procesamiento de las siguientes personas:
a) Constantino Yuira Loza. Detenido el 24 de junio de 1989. Con sentencia condenatoria en recurso de casación. Estudiante de la Carrera de Sociología de la
UMSA;
b) Juan Nelson Encinas Laguna. Detenido el 25 de junio de 1989. Con sentencia condenatoria en recurso de casación. Egresado de la carrera de
Electromecánica y estudiante de b carrera de Electrónica de la UMSA;
c) Félix Fernando Encías Laguna. Detenido el 28 de junio de 1989. Con sentencia condenatoria en recurso de casación. Estudiante de la carrera de Sociología
de la UMSA.
d) Gabriel Rojas Bilbao. Detenido el 28 de junio de 1989. En libertad por haber sido sobreseído. Médico.
e) Simón Mamani Callizaya. Detenido en octubre de 1989. Con libertad provisional. Estudiante de Comunicación Social de la UMSA.
f) Johnny Justino Peralta Espinoza. Detenido el 16 de julio de 1993. Con sentencia condenatoria en recurso de casación. Egresado de la carrera de Economía
de la UMSA.
g) Susana Zapana Hannover. Juzgada "en rebeldía". Con sentencia condenatoria en recurso de casación. Considerada por su familia como "desaparecida".
Estudiante de medicina de la UMSA.
h) Víctor Eduardo Prieto Encinas. Juzgado "en rebeldía". Con Sentencia condenatoria en recurso de casación. Considerado por su familia como "desaparecido".
1.1. Detenciones y allanamientos sin mandamientos de Autoridad competente.
La madrugada del 24 de junio de 1989, cuando retornaba a su domicilio en Alto Chijini, "más allá del cementerio", Constantino Yujra Loza fue detenido con un
primo suyo (cuya identidad se desconoce y que fue puesto en libertad), siendo conducido a una casa de la calle "Hermanos Manchego" de la ciudad de La Paz que,
a decir del Cnl. de Policía Antonio Rojas Trujillo, fue habilitada especialmente para realizar la investigación del homicidio de los súbditos estadounidenses Jeffrey
Brent Ball y Todd Ray Wilson (mormones), acaecido en La Paz en fecha 24 de mayo de 1989 y bajo circunstancias en las que dichos ciudadanos norteamericanos
fueron victimados a balazos.
De acuerdo a declaraciones prestadas ante esta Comisión, ninguna autoridad jurisdiccional libró mandamiento alguno de aprehensión y/o allanamiento. Constantino
Yujra relata:
"Varios agentes vestidos de civil se aproximan y me dicen: "tengo orden de detención" a lo que yo me resistí, e incluso intenté escaparme, a lo cual me
agarraron pues y comenzaron a golpearme de una forma brutal hasta tenderme en el suelo. Similar suerte corrió mi primo" (Declaración Informativa, fs.
4)
Por su parte el Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo, Subcomandante de Criminalística asignado al caso por orden del Comandante General a. i. de la Policía Nacional, Gral.
Julio Rivera R., sostiene:
"Empezamos a hacer un largo seguimiento a un ciudadano de nombre Constantino Yujra y la información que recibimos, por el seguimiento, era de que
Constantino Yuira era estudiante de la Facultad de Sociología, que enamoraba con una estudiante de Farmacia, vivía más allá del Cementerio y sus
movimientos eran sospechosos porque se contactaba con una y otra persona".
"Entonces, esta información se hace conocer a las autoridades superiores de la Policía Nacional y ellas, más el señor Fiscal (Salomón Paniagua) y el
Asesor Jurídico (Alberto Romay), deciden que el equipo que está investigando lo tome detenido para que sea investigado él" (Declaración Informativa fs.
5).
Se presume que el domicilio de Yujra fue allanado, porque éste manifiesta:
"...tenían de las incautaciones que habían hecho de mi domicilio, algunos documentos: folletos, revistas, apuntes de Zárate Willca, sobre todo folletos,
libros que yo los tenía como estudiante de la carrera de Sociología y pues, en la carrera de Sociología es materia troncal estudiar este proceso de
levantamiento armado del siglo pasado" (Declaración Informativa, fis. 4).
El de 25 de junio de 1989, Nelson Encinas Laguna es detenido sin que medie mandamiento de autoridad competente, por Manuel Balboa Suxo, que comandaba un
grupo de "uniformados y policías civiles". Fue conducido, al parecer con violencia, por distintos lugares: El Alto, su casa, la Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, la
casa de un hermano suyo, etc., con el objeto de que identificara a su hermano Félix y a otras personas.
A las 18 horas habrían allanado la casa de la familia Encinas Laguna y posteriormente la de otro hermano del detenido.
"Entraron con violencia, con fuerza, estaban portando asnas, intimidaron a toda mi familia, tengo muchos sobrinos. Entonces, bueno, se pusieron a
requisar la casa, en esa requisa absolutamente no encontraron nada, excepto algunos textos, libros de mi hermano que estudia Sociología, libros de
Marx, de Daniel Ortega y Humberto" (Declaración Informativa, fis. 4).
A las 22 horas de ese mismo día Nelson Encinas es puesto en libertad:
"....me ponen en libertad, absolutamente, a las 11 de la noche, se disculpan, que han cometido un error, etc." (Declaración Informativa, fs. 4).
El día 28 de junio de 1989, aproximadamente a las 23:30, son detenidos Nelson Encinas y su hermano Félix Encinas Laguna, mediante un operativo policial de gran
envergadura, donde intervienen el Cnl. Antonio Rojas y su "equipo" (como él lo denomina), el Fiscal Salomón Paniagua y, presuntamente, agentes del FBI.. Es
pertinente transcribir parte de las declaraciones prestadas al respecto en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Cámara de Diputados:
El Sr. Nelson Encinas afirma:
"...el día jueves en la noche, 28 de junio en que, en circunstancias en que íbamos a visitar a una pariente, nos detuvieron en la puerta de la casa. Ahí
hicieron disparos (...) golpes, patadas, nos desnudaron en la calle, nos amarraron nos pusieron una capucha, bueno, nuestras propias chompas y nos
llevaron detenidos hasta la calle Manchego (...) en ningún momento mostraron orden de detención" (Declaración Informativa, fs.4).
El Sr. Félix Encinas relata su detención de la siguiente manera:
"...sin orden judicial me han detenido. Mi detención se ha producido en las inmediaciones de la calle Jaimes Freyre, a la altura del surtidor de gasolina,
en circunstancias en que yo me encontraba junto a mi hermano Nelson, visitando a una familia, a unos parientes, cuando comandos antisubversivos se
apostaron y nos emboscaron. Eso era el 28 de junio de 1989, con disparos de armas, nosotros no hemos opuesto resistencia. En medio de los agentes
había gente norteamericana, en una clara intromisión a nuestros derechos En el instante mismo, había gente norteamericana provistos de "walkie talkie"
armados con ametralladoras. Ellos han procedido a dispararnos sin saber si nosotros éramos culpables o no de los delitos de que luego nos acusarían, sin
saber si teníamos mandamiento de aprehensión; la forma más brutal de detención que se haya producido, con disparos de armas. Nosotros lo único que
hemos atinado a hacer es caminar un poco rápido y luego tendernos al suelo y decir que estábamos desarmados. Después de ésto nos llevan a la calle
Manchego. Pero qué han hecho en ese transcurso?. Nos han desvestido hasta medio cuerpo queriendo encontrar armas y lo único que han encontrado
son libros, son textos; querían encontrar dinero y lo único que han encontrado son nuestras ideas".
"De esta detención ha participado gente norteamericana, un norteamericano con acento puertorriqueño, apodado "el Camba", quien ha sido el que nos
ha propinado patadas. Ante este alboroto de los disparos, la gente ha salido a ver qué pasaba y ha empezado a gritar que no nos agredan, pero ellos han
disparado al aire para que la gente se espante" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 1 y 2).
El Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo es más escueto, pero confirma parcialmente las características de la detención. Afirma que haciéndose pasar por estudiantes lograron
que la tía de una persona llamada Susana (que seria Susana Zapana, de acuerdo a la Policía), los condujera hasta la Av. Jaimes Freyre, entrando por una callecita,
para a través de ella, "ubicar a Horacio", quien sería el "jefe del grupo" Fal-Zárate Willca.
Dice textualmente el Cnl. Rojas:
"...y ocurre que a las once y media de la noche no llegaba Susana para que nos diga quién era Horacio, cómo lo conoció, si lo conocía o no lo conocía.
No llegaba el supuesto Horacio ni nadie, pero sí llegan dos jóvenes y empiezan a tocar la puerta y nadie abre, tocan y tocan la puerta y nadie abre.
Entonces uno de los funcionarios va a interceptarlos e inmediatamente se dan a la fuga los dos. No sabíamos quienes eran. Estaban con un maletincito.
Uno de los funcionarios corre: 'alto, alto, alto', y se tiran al suelo los dos. Nosotros no sabíamos quienes eran y después resultan siendo Félix y Nelson
Encinas Prieto (...) se los traslada a la oficina..."
"con la detención de ellos, ya alarmamos a la gente, a la dueña de casa, en fin, aunque tratamos de disimular lo más que se pueda..." (Declaración
Informativa, fs. 10).
Posteriormente, sin orden judicial, parte del grupo procedió al allanamiento y requisa de una vivienda en ausencia de sus moradores. El Cnl. Rojas Trujillo describe
así este operativo de media noche:
"...en presencia del Fiscal (Salomón Paniagua) y del Asesor Jurídico (Alberto Romay) y el equipo que investigaba hacemos el allanamiento al domicilio y
hacemos una requisa a la casa, lugar donde encontramos, en primer lugar, cartas de Fal-Zárate Willca, encontramos certificados de haber sido ella
mormona, encontramos una carta dirigida a sus señores padres donde ella decía tácitamente que ella renunciaba a su familia y que empieza a luchar por
su causa (...) encontramos tan sorpresivamente un croquis en un papel bond tamaño oficio, con bolígrafo, dice: 'puerta metal roja, signada número
tantos, lado izquierdo peluquería, lado derecho restaurante' (...) otro croquis pero así lleno de rayas, del Comisariato de EE. UU. que no conozco hasta
ahora, parece que queda en la zona sur (...) una lista larga de nombres de funcionarios de Criminalística que estaba encabezando Guido Benavidez (...)
manuales de inteligencia y contra inteligencia y, en fin, muchos documentos encontramos allá. Se hace un inventario, se llevan todas las cosas, se
precinta la casa..."
Se trata de operativos, todos ellos, realizados sin orden judicial ni mandamientos de ley, a cargo de jefes policiales de alta calificación profesional (27 años de
servicio) con Especialidad de investigación criminal" y otros cursos de post grado en la Policía. Tal es el caso del Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo. Pero es evidente
también que el Fiscal Salomón Paniagua y el abogado Alberto Romay lo permitieron, no obstante conocer como abogados las prohibiciones de ley (Constitución
Política del Estado, Código de Procedimiento Penal, Ley Orgánica de la Policía Nacional, etc.) participando activamente en los operativos.
Sólo Johnny Justino Peralta Espinoza fue detenido existiendo orden de aprehensión dictada por el Juez.
1.2. Incomunicación y detención por tiempo superior al permitido por Ley.
El Sr. Constantino Yujra permaneció detenido por espacio de 13 días en la casa de la calle "Hermanos Manchego", y los hermanos Nelson y Félix Encinas durante
9 días, en el mismo lugar, como se desprende de las informaciones policiales acerca de la fecha en que fueran detenidos y la que consta en el requerimiento de
apertura de causa, de la Fiscal de Instrucción en lo Penal Dra. Teresa Leytón de Rodríguez, cursante a fs. 441 de obrados. Consultado el Cnl. Rojas sobre quién
autorizó la ampliación de la incomunicación y detención, manifestó:
"El Fiscal, si. Y los Fiscales, conocemos nosotros, muchas veces requieren por escrito y muchas veces requieren verbalmente..."
Y ante una pregunta especifica sobre quién fue el Fiscal que dispuso ese tipo de incomunicación, dijo:
"Es el doctor que trabajó con nosotros, el Dr. Salomón Paniagua y el Dr. Romay también, Asesor Jurídico que también era Fiscal" (Declaración
Informativa, fs. 22).
Por su parte, Johnny Justino Peralta, es puesto a disposición del Juez de la causa al quinto día de haber sido detenido. Se lo mantiene incomunicado en
dependencias del CEIP "en la Plaza El Carmen", no obstante encontrarse bajo la competencia judicial. En esas dependencias de la Policía, se practican
interrogatorios por el Fiscal José Nemtala y varios agentes entre los que el detenido identifica a Edgar Chávez.
Al respecto, el Fiscal José Nemtala Kairala, en declaración prestada ante esta Comisión, afirma:
"He procedido a su detención (...) un sábado para domingo en la madrugada y fue remitido el lunes a primera hora ante el Juez competente como
enmarcan las leyes judiciales (...) en las 24 horas" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 45).
Sin embargo, el Juez 8 de Instrucción en lo Penal, Dr. David Rivas Grandín, a cargo de la Instrucción, manifiesta:
"En la etapa final de dictar el Auto definitivo, se conoce la detención de uno de los ciudadanos sindicados en el proceso y es remitido casi a los dos o tres días".
Johnny Justino Peralta Espinoza fue detenido el 16 de julio de 1993 y remitido al Juez de la causa el 20 de julio del mismo año.
Acudiendo al calendario de 1993, se constata que el 16 de julio fue día viernes y el 20 de julio martes. Es decir que, durante cuatro días se detuvo a Johnny Peralta
sin remitirlo al juzgado en que estaba radicada la causa.
Aún en el caso en que se lo hubiera remitido en el curso de las 24 horas, quien debía ejecutar esas acciones era Criminalística o la Policía Judicial. Y nadie más que
el Juez podía disponer actuaciones como las realizadas en este tiempo (interrogatorios).
1.3. Privación y/o interferencias del derecho de defensa.
En ninguno de los casos se observó el derecho de los presos de ser "asistido por un abogado defensor desde el momento de su detención" (Constitución Política del
Estado, Art. 16, conc. Art. 3 del Código de Procedimiento Penal), no obstante los pedidos hechos por ellos, como consta en declaraciones y memoriales de
denuncia.
Constantino Yujra manifiesta que, ante el reclamo de este derecho ("no voy a declarar nada, no tengo abogado"), fue "encapuchado nuevamente y golpeado
brutalmente" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 6).
Interrogado en la investigación Camaral, si se permitió la concurrencia de los defensores a los detenidos durante los interrogatorios, el Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo
contestó categóricamente:
"No doctor, no han estado los abogados, no se si mi persona estaba facultada para autorizar o no autorizar, porque todo se informaba al Comando
General de la Policía Nacional. Además, creí que la Investigación que estaba haciendo el equipo, con la sola presencia, autorización, asistencia y la
supervisión del Fiscal y el Asesor Jurídico, creo estuve cumpliendo con todas las situaciones legales del caso" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 16).
Con lo que se evidencia que se privó a los detenidos de un derecho fundamental que tiene que ver con el debido proceso y el inalienable principio de defensa.
Pero por otro lado, ya bajo la jurisdicción y competencia del Juzgado 6 de Instrucción en lo Penal, el titular del mismo, Dr. Ernesto Loredo Torrico, contrariamente
a lo establecido por ley, no permitió que los detenidos sean entrevistados por su abogado defensor, exigiendo "solicitud de parte" que, aún siendo irregular, fue
presentada mediante memorial para salvar este obstáculo y no perjudicar a los detenidos Yujra y Encinas que se encontraban en la llamada "Posta" de la cárcel de
San Pedro. Curiosamente el Juez no tomó la decisión de ordenar al Gobernador de la Cárcel viabilizar este derecho de defensa, sino que pasó a "vista fiscal". Por
su parte el Fiscal Salomón Paniagua, requirió previamente "Informe el Gobernador de la Cárcel de San Pedro".
Esta violación del derecho de defensa sólo cesó después de tomadas las declaraciones indagatorias a los procesados en el interior del Penal de San Pedro, en cuyas
audiencias el Juez dispuso verbalmente que no se permitiera el ingreso del abogado defensor. Al parecer estas actuaciones tenían el propósito de impedir que, en la
etapa del Sumario, los encausados contaran con el asesoramiento legal correspondiente, imponiendo así un carácter "secreto" a esa etapa del juicio, lo que no está
permitido por nuestra legislación.
1.4. Torturas y vejaciones para provocar autoincriminaciones y denuncias forzadas contra otras
personas.
De acuerdo a las declaraciones de los denunciantes, al parecer desde el momento de su detención, durante ésta y aún cuando fueron remitidos a la justicia ordinaria,
éstos sufrieron malos tratos de diversa índole y gravedad.
En calidad de ejemplos, transcribirnos párrafos de las declaraciones ante esta Comisión de Derechos Humanos, las mismas que en casi todos los casos son
reiteración de declaraciones ante el Juez de la causa y de denuncias públicas.
a) Constantino Yujra. En uno de los pasajes de lo que él denomina su "Via crucis" relata:
"....me encapucharon y me golpearon sistemáticamente hasta hacerme sentir desmayos, golpes, patadas, puñetes, culatazos. Estaba por entonces lleno de
hematomas mi cara, mi rostro totalmente desfigurado. Sentí desmayos, me echaron agua. Nuevamente me recuperé, señor honorable. Nuevamente me
resistí a hablar, entonces me dijeron, uno de ellos dijo que me colgaran de los pies. Trajeron una pita, una soga, me amarraron de los pies, me colgaron
de la ducha que sobresalía (...), el dorso descubierto y patas arriba. Nuevamente me interrogaron: 'quiénes son los miembros de Zárate Willca? por qué
has hecho estos apuntes de Zárate Willca?, etc. etc. Yo me resistí (...) comenzaron a golpearme con listones, con culatazos, patadas, puñetes, cortos al
estómago (....) me sumergieron al turril con agua que había ahí, me sacaron nuevamente, me jalaron de la pita, pues dije: 'voy a hablar, por favor
déjenme'" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 6).
b) Nelson Encinas, dice:
"... esas golpizas eran terribles, porque entre ocho, entre diez, a uno lo agarraban a patadas, lo tumbaban. Yo creo que era por amedrentamos
psicológicamente, o sea, antes que lastimarnos más físicamente".
"Otra de las cosas que recuerdo son los famosos simulacros de ejecución; que era mejor que yo hable o que ... ('clac') o ellos ponían un arma en mi sien.
Hacían algunas manipulaciones y después apretaban el gatillo. Me pedían previamente que rece, que me encomiende a Dios. Eso fue permanente".
"Entre las torturas puedo citar toques eléctricos, por ejemplo con bastón, cuando estaba semídesnudo" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 7 y 9).
c) Félix Encinas, expresa:
"Me han molido a patadas..."
"... he recibido una serie de vejámenes, desde la tortura psicológica, de simulacros de ejecución, desde toques eléctricos, desde torturarme en los
testículos (...) A mi me han dado las palizas más serias. Hoy día, a pesar de mí edad, tengo reumatismo, tengo daños en los riñones. Ya no soy un nombre
entero. No creo que la democracia me reponga ésto, ni el tiempo ni el invierno" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 4 y 8).
d) Johnny Peralta, declara lo ocurrido en el CEIP, no obstante estar ya bajo la competencia del Juzgado 8 de Instrucción en lo Penal:
"... me cuelgan de los pies, cabeza abajo y empiezan a pegarme, también con una especie de mazo en todo el cuerpo y en la cabeza, yo seguía
encapuchado. En ese momento escucho la voz del Fiscal Nemtala que me dice, y se acerca, que para qué me iba a estar resistiendo si todo ya estaba
dicho, que lo que diga yo, lo que niegue yo o lo que afirme yo, no importaba, que estaba todo cocinado y que lo importante era que yo coadyuve en decir
dónde estaba el armamento y dónde estaba la señora Susana Zapana. Yo le digo que yo no se de ningún armamento y que no sabía nada de esa señora".
"En algún momento me bajan de ese lugar. Este colgamiento ha durado como media hora, ya cada rato parece que me soltaban la cuerda y yo creía que
me iba a chocar (...) contra el suelo, pero no lo hacían. Me bajaban y otra vez me colgaban, me bajaban y otra vez nos colgaban..."
"... me tienden en esa mesa, me empiezan a poner la picana eléctrica en mis testículos, puedo mostrarles, tengo una cicatriz en el testículo izquierdo"
(muestra a la Comisión) (Declaración Informativa, fs. 3 y 4).
De acuerdo a las declaraciones, algunos autores de estos actos serían:
- Cnl. Carlos Vizcarra, Comandante de Criminalística.
"En la calle Manchego hemos llegado maniatados con alambres (..) lo primero que hemos recibido de bienvenida, yo recuerdo que fue un puntapié que
me dio en el rostro este Cnl. Vizcarra y me gritó 'asesino'" (Declaración Informativa de Nelson Encinas, fs. 4).
- Hermanos Rodríguez, Manuel Balboa Suxo, Edgar Chávez y Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo:
"Hermanos Rodríguez son tres (...) es uno el My. Rodríguez (...) ha estado Manuel Balboa Suxo, uno de los hombres que se ha ensañado con mi
persona y con la de mis otros compañeros; ha estado el policía Edgar Chávez y ha estado también el Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo" (Declaración
Informativa de Félix Encinas, fs. 4 y 5).
- Agentes Norteamericanos.
"...han participado de las golpizas (...) ellos personalmente a mi me han golpeado (...) he sido alzado como un muñeco por un norteamericano"
(Declaración Informativa de Félix Encinas, fs. 5).
- Fiscal Salomón Paniagua.
"...el mismo dijo: 'este caballero ha hecho muchas declaraciones aquí, pero ahora en el momento de ratificarse, se olvidó cómo hicieron (...) estas
declaraciones'; el Cnl. Rojas dijo: 'Ahorita se va a recordar muchachos'. Salieron dos agentes, me llevaron nuevamente pues, se repitió la misma historia:
electricidad, agua, me acuerdo uno de estos sillones, una de estas sillas se rompieron en mi cuerpo"
"... en el momento de las interrogaciones, se ponía muy furioso el Cnl. Rojas y no le convencía la forma como golpeaban los agentes, personalmente
entonces nos llevaba al cuarto donde nos torturaba y pues muchas veces me encontré frente con él y el señor era tan sádico que no entendía incluso los
ruegos que yo le hacia, era tan frío en sus sentimientos, le rogaba, incluso le pedí llorando que por favor no me torture, rompió mis pantalones en una de
esas ocasiones, de las entrepiernas y comenzó a apretare los testículos hasta hacerme llorar y hacerme sentir desmayos (Declaración Informativa de
Constantino Yujra, fs. 8 y 10).
- Fiscal José Luis Nemtala Kairab
"... el Fiscal Nemtala que estaba ordenando todas esas torturas" (Declaración Informativa de Johnny Peralta, fs. 4).
Por su parte, el Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo, sostiene:
"Yo no he tocado a nadie, ni mi personal ha tocado a nadie. Yo nunca he trabajado con grupos terroristas, ni nunca pensé trabajar, ni creo trabajar
tampoco, porque ésta es una experiencia dura para mi. Ocurre que mi técnica en particular en los interrogatorios, los interrogatorios son muy suaves, los
que hago yo. Yo hablo fuerte, doctor, y mucha gente puede creer otra cosa.
"En absoluto, niego enfáticamente. Nunca he practicado yo métodos de esta naturaleza. Yo solamente conozco por cuento. No he presenciado en 27 años
que soy Policía, nunca he presenciado, a fe de hombre, a fe de Policía, solamente por cuento se yo del turril, la electricidad. Jamás en mi vida ni he visto
ni he practicado, así que mal podríamos haber practicado esos métodos en la investigación de este caso, en absoluto.
"Ellos (personal norteamericano) nos cooperaron con su laboratorio del FBI, en el análisis de las evidencias (...) ...solamente nos han colaborado, reitero,
con el laboratorio y con el polígrafo y después han hecho única y exclusivamente un seguimiento de nuestra actuación" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 16,
22, 23, y 24)
El Fiscal Nemtala afirma:
"A Johnny Justino Peralta no se le hizo absolutamente nada" (Declaración Informativa, fs 45).
Como lo afirmaran en sus declaraciones ante esta Comisión de Derechos Humanos y en las indagatorias y confesorías, los detenidos para evitar torturas se habrían
visto forzados a autoincriminarse y en algunos casos habrían sido inducidos a incriminar a otras personas, con resultados diferentes.
Constantino Yujra, afirma:
"Me sacaron nuevamente donde estaba el Cnl Rojas y algunos de los Fiscales, doctores con sus máquinas de escribir. 'Si, hemos hecho, lo hemos
suavizado un poco y se ha recordado si?, me preguntaron. Yo les dije que si y pues comencé diciendo que si, evidentemente, tenía que mentir (...) para que
no me torturaran más, yo les dije que si pertenecía a miembros de Zárate Willca, porque no podía aguantar ese tipo de torturas que me estaban haciendo
(...) incluso me dieron ellos las pautas para que yo iba a tejer esta novela (...) entonces seguí la corriente.
"El Cap.(...) Jaime Paredes Sempértegui, según él (Cnl. Rojas), según los agentes del Ministerio del Interior, era quien nos daba instrucción a nuestro
grupo. Lo que querían era que lo involucremos nosotros (...) cosa falsa" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 7 y 10).
Nelson Encinas también sostiene que querían obligarlo a incriminar falsamente:
"... a cualquier cantidad de personas, yo recuerdo que me mostraron la foto del Honorable Del Granado, 'qué tiene que ver con él' decían (...) oficiales,
tenientes, capitanes, coroneles (...) del Dr. Waldo Albarracín, del Dr. Crespo, etc. Tenían cualquier cantidad de fotografías" (Declaración Informativa, fs
10).
Félix Encinas, dice:
"Nos ofrecieron una serie de chantajes, como decir: 'yo te saco afuera, tú acusas a los prófugos'. Yo nunca he acusado a nadie de ningún hecho, porque
yo no puedo acusar de un hecho en el que no he participado (...) por ejemplo, a Johnny Peralta, que lo acuse del asesinato de los dos mormones; a
periodistas como Cristina Corrales" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 7).
Nuevamente citamos a Constantino Yujra:
"Yo acepté que había asistido a esa Escuela (se refiere a la Escuela de Formación Política Zárate Willca, de carácter público y legal, auspiciadora de
seminarios y talleres, en el marco de las actividades de la FUL-UMSA), que incluso habían participado en esa Escuela personalidades de alto vuelo
político que hoy son honorables Diputados, son profesores universitarios, entonces ellos incluyeron en el proceso a los mencionados HH. Diputados,
profesores y aparecieron en nuestro expediente los nombres de esos respetables señores" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 5).
Por su parle, Johnny Justino Peralta declara que quisieron forzarlo a que acuse a su propia madre:
"... me dan una condena de treinta arios, sin tener la prueba material ni jurídica para acusarme de ese hecho. Nunca ellos han demostrado con qué arma
se ha disparado a los súbditos norteamericanos, nunca un testigo me ha señalado que yo he estado en ese hecho de sangre, por eso que cuando llega mi
declaración ante la embajada norteamericana, ellos prácticamente se sabia o que habían elaborado en el CEIP, porque después de esa tortura de la
picana eléctrica, en un momento yo digo: 'bájenme de aquí, voy a hacer todo lo que ustedes quieren'. Me presentan ya una declaración escrita donde se
involucraba a mi madre como partícipe de apoyo, de colaboración a la organización. Ahí se indicaba de que mi madre supuestamente habría comprado
una casa de seguridad para nosotros, para la organización, ahí se acusaba de que personas como ser Nelson Encinas, Félix Encinas, Constantino Yujra,
Susana Zapana, Eduardo Prieto, habían participado en diferentes operativos, indicando algunas características de los operativos".
"En ese momento, cuando ya estaba yo sin la capucha, pero seguía desnudo, me dan una frazada, yo al fiscal Nemtala le digo que tenía una observación,
porque en primer lugar, no podía firmar una declaración que no he hecho (...) entonces yo le digo que para hacer esa declaración tenía que estar al lado
de un abogado y el Fiscal Nemtala me responde: 'si no ayudas, si no firmas esta declaración, igual vas a estar cagado, tú sabes que hay una recompensa,
a nosotros nos interesa cobrar esa recompensa y no nos importa si te presentamos vivo o muerto, y así tranquilamente podemos hacer la ley de fuga,
matarte a vos y dar a cualquier agente de estos un tiro en la pierna y después darle treinta mil o cincuenta mil dólares para que se calle y diga, bueno,
que en un acto de defensa te ha matado'. Después dice: si no eres vos, alguien de tu familia va a caer'. Sinceramente en ese momento me sentía
acorralado, primero pensé en m madre, por todo lo que habla sufrido, ella tiene casi sesenta años (...) Por eso precisamente después de esa declaración
escrita a máquina, al final yo hago una declaración con mi puño y letra diciendo que mi madre nada tenía que ver y que me ratifico en esa declaración"
(Declaración Informativa, fs. 5 y 6).
1.5. Adulteración del principio del debido proceso.
Algunas observaciones que afectan la esencia del debido proceso y por lo tanto de los Derechos Humanos, serán realizadas en el capítulo de conclusiones. Aquí
solamente se hará una relación puntual de estos hechos extraídos de las declaraciones de los detenidos, de las autoridades policiales, judiciales, del Ministerio
Público, así corno de los expedientes del juicio.
a) Campaña publicitaria en contra de la presunción de inocencia.
Inmediatamente después de la detención de Yujra, Encinas, Telma Salazar y Gabriel Rojas (28/06/89), los ministros de Informaciones (Hermann Antelo) y del
Interior (Eduardo Pérez Beltrán), de esa época, hacen públicas declaraciones, manifestando:
"Cuatro paramilitares que prestaron servicios en el Ministerio del Interior y dos estudiantes universitarios, fueron identificados por el gobierno como los
autores materiales del asesinato de dos misioneros norteamericanos, el 24 de mayo último, dentro de un proceso de investigación que desbarató en las
últimas horas la organización clandestina "Zárate Willca" de tendencia ideológica marxista-leninista".
Afirmó (Antelo): "La Comisión investigadora (con apoyo técnico de especialistas norteamericanos) de los diversos hechos terroristas ocurridos país, ha
esclarecido las acciones del grupo denominado "Zárate Wilica" e identificado a los principales responsables".
El Ministro del Interior "indicó que durante la próxima conferencia de prensa se mostrará todo el material decomisado, como ser baterías para explosión
de bombas, relojes preparados para atentados terroristas, cables similares a los utilizados anteriormente, además de documentación". (Presencia, 30 de
junio de 1989, pág. 7. "Gobierno identificó a miembros del grupo armado "Zárate Willca").
Tras estas declaraciones se desplegó una campaña publicitaria que reiterada e insistentemente mostró las imágenes de las personas detenidas y sospechosas como
autores de "todos los atentados".
El 23 de agosto de 1989, el periódico "Hoy"de La Paz registra en su página 6, una nota titulada "Continúa en justicia ordinaria trámite de caso Zárate Wilica", e
informa, entre otras cosas, que "comenzaron a circular los afiches elaborados en los Estados Unidos por miembros de la FBI mediante los cuales se busca y of rece
recompensa por Johnny Justino Peralta Espinoza, Victor Eduardo Prieto Encinas, Susana Zapana Hannover y Simón Mamani Quispe". La nota incluye el afiche con
las fotografías de las personas mencionadas bajo el epígrafe "BUSCADOS por la Policía Nacional, por los delitos de asesinato, terrorismo y otros". Asimismo,
destaca que "como se recordará, el Estado norteamericano ofreció una recompensa de hasta 500 mil dólares".
b) Forzada y generalizada imputación penal.
El "Informe preliminar sobre diligencias de Policía Judicial" de 5 de julio de 1989, cursante de fs. 432 a 435 de obrados, define la "naturaleza del hecho" como
"muertes de personas y atentados terroristas"; como lugar del hecho: "calle Killman y Chango López, Vía pública.- Autopista.- Comisariato de EE.UU..-Parlamento
Nacional.- Iglesias Mormonas-calle José María Achá y otros", como "fechas del hecho: 1988 a 1989 años".
De tal manera que, aparentemente, se trata de un "continum" investigativo que parte el 17 de julio de 1988 con la muerte de Teófilo Nina Quispe, presuntamente
"ejecutado" por las FAL-Zárate Willca; continúa el 8 de agosto de ese mismo año con la investigación sobre un "atentado dinamitero" al Comisariato de EE.UU.; el
"atentado dinamitero en el frontis del Honorable Congreso Nacional el día 7 de diciembre de 1988, hasta culminar con la investigación de la victimación de los
súbditos norteamericanos Jefrey Brent Ball y Todd Ray Wilson (mormones), el 24 de mayo de 1989. Se mencionan, asimismo, "diferentes atentados y robos en
varias iglesias mormonas en diferentes fechas" .
Sin embargo, las versiones que sobre el curso investigativo entregan a la Comisión de Derechos Humanos, el Cnl. Rojas y el Fiscal Paniagua (encargados de la
investigación), dan cuenta más bien de pesquisas policiales no completadas ni concluidas; veanos:
El Cnl. Antonio Rojas Trujillo, responsable policial de la investigación, afirma:
"nosotros no estuvimos investigando a grupos terroristas ni nada, estuvimos investigando un crimen".
"...ese caso (se refiere a la muerte de Teófilo Nina) había sido archivado con investigación a medias; el caso de George Schulze, a medias archivado, el
caso del Congreso archivado, todo archivado.
"...casos en los que no había intervenido nunca, casos que he debido conocer seguramente así, superficialmente, pero que no investigué (Declaración
Informativa, fs 4 y 5).
Lo curioso es que el Cnl. Rojas suscribe un informe, el único, puesto que después es "restituido" a su cargo de Subcomandante de Investigación Criminal, sin
conocer ya nada del problema, "porque el caso -afirma- yo pensé que ahí ya había terminado" (fs. 13).
Los únicos que parecían saber claramente las "conexiones" y haber hecho el seguimiento de todos los casos para reunirlos en uno solo, como un gran
rompecabezas, son los miembros del "personal que trabajaba conmigo" (Rojas) y el Fiscal Salomón Paniagua, que espontáneamente dise:
"...sacando un pequeño resumen de algunos antecedentes que he tenido la suene de tener hay un caso, un primer caso, que se comienza a investigar el 17
de julio de 1988, muerte de Teófilo Nina Quispe, en agosto de 1988 otro caso del Comisariato de Estados Unidos, el mismo año del 88 un atentado
terrorista a la Comisión de George Schulz y el 24 de mayo del 89 la muerte de los mormones" (Declaración Informativa, fs 3).
Sin embargo, el Fiscal Paniagua no firma el Informe de Policía Judicial y en el caso concreto dise que "...no conozco antecedentes de cómo los han tornado
detenidos a estos ciudadanos".
Como consta y hemos citado anteriormente, el responsable de la investigación, Cnl Antonio Rojas, quien por memorándum de 24 de mayo de 1989 se hace cargo
de conducir la investigación e inmediatamente solicito también que se integre a la Comisión un Fiscal (...) me asignan al Dr. Salomón Paniagua"; agrega a lo
registrado en páginas anteriores, lo siguiente:
"toda esta información se hace conocer a las autoridades superiores de la Policía Nacional, porque comunicábamos, informábamos diariamente y el
señor Fiscal, el Asesor Jurídico y las autoridades superiores de la Policía Nacional toman la decisión de que se proceda a la detención legal"
(Declaración Informativa, fs 6).
El Fiscal Paniagua insiste en negar ésto y afirma:
"...he conocido el caso en junio del 89 (...) tampoco se me comunicó en el momento que les tomaban declaraciones, les leí en reiteradas oportunidades, no
me hicieron constar que hubieran sido objeto de daños y lesiones ... (Declaración Informativa, fis. 3).
También niega haber sido partícipe de las torturas o haber conocido que se las practicara, pero "en forma posterior", recuerda haber recibido denuncias en San
Pedro sobre torturas y en lugar de investigarlas considera que ese trato es irrelevante y casi rutinario, no asimilable al tipo penal de torturas y malos tratos.
Dice textualmente:
"...yo suponía que a cualquier detenido, incluso a mi hoy por hoy, desde luego como yo conozco cuáles son mis derechos digo por qué me están llevando,
por qué me están arrastrando y me defiendo y tal vez puedo ser sometido un poquito a presión..."
"...Lo que vi, eran tratados mal por los policías..." (Declaración Informativa, fs. 8).
El segundo elemento inicial de las contradicciones es que la mencionada conferencia de prensa que anuncia la "identificación" de los autores de los hechos que son
motivo de la investigación, ofreciendo un "rescate" por su captura, habla de "paramilitares" al silencio del Ministerio del Interior, pero las Diligencias de Policial
Judicial, en base a las que realizan la mencionada conferencia de prensa los Ministros del Interior, de Informaciones, Fiscales, Autoridades Policiales, etc., no
aportan en absoluto elementos que sustenten tan categórica afirmación. Es más, el informe ni siquiera habla de los presuntos "paramilitares".
Otro dato importante es que las declaraciones de quienes tuvieron a su cargo la investigación y procesamiento de este caso, así como los obrados judiciales revelan
contradicciones en cuanto a los tipos, grados y responsabilidades penales de quienes fueron finalmente condenados. Desde el "Informe Preliminar", hasta el final del
proceso, salta a la vista que se estaría juzgando al FAL Zárate Willca, como"autores intelectuales y materiales" (fs. 433 de obrados); a las "actividades delictivas
efectuadas por el FAL Zárate Willca" (fs. 434 de obrados) y, por lo tanto, la sola presunción de militancia o relación con ese grupo es la base para procesar a las
personas, contradiciendo esencialmente los principios penales y la propia legislación positiva que atribuye los tipos penales de asesinato, terrorismo, alzamiento
armado, etc. al actor, al sujeto, que será calificado como autor, coautor, cómplice, encubridor, etc.. Es decir que se trata de una atribución "intuito personae".
Resulta entonces que, desde el inicio de la investigación policial, el caso fue tratado desde una óptica ajena a los principios del debido proceso, forzando y
generalizando imputaciones para justificar, al parecer, una campaña publicitaria de supuesta eficiencia estatal en la lucha contra el terrorismo.
c) Irregular apreciación de la prueba con motivo de la Sentencia.
El Juez 6 de Partido en lo Penal de La Paz, Dr. Germán Urquizo León, en su Declaración Informativa ante esta Comisión de Derechos Humanos, interrogado
acerca de la prueba plena que habría tomado en cuenta corno sustento de la Sentencia en este caso, expresó:
"El suscrito Juez ha hecho un análisis pormenorizado de todos los antecedentes que cursan en obrados, absolutamente con toda minuciosidad, de tal
manera que hemos examinado todos los documentos que se han encontrado en poder de estos señores procesados. De ahí se ha colegido la existencia de
suficiente prueba como para distar una sentencia condenatoria. Ese es el análisis que ha hecho e/ Juez en aplicación del Art. 135 del Procedimiento Penal
y el Art. 144 de/ mismo Procedimiento, relativos a presunciones" (Declaración Informativa, Os. 2).
Analicemos la minuciosidad con que el Juez examino los documentos.
En primer lugar, resulta contradictorio que el Juez afirme Categóricamente que las pruebas son documentos "encontrados en poder de estos señores", cuando al
referirse a Eduardo Prieto y Susana Zapana Hannover, él mismo puntualiza, poco antes, que fueron encausados en rebeldía". Ninguno de ellos fue detenido y desde
el Informe de Diligencias de Policía judicial, hasta la sentencia, queda probado que no comparecieron ante ninguna autoridad siendo considerados prófugos. Por lo
tanto, nada pudo encontrarse "en su poder".
En segundo lugar, no consta en obrados ninguna otra prueba adicional a las aportadas por las Diligencias de Policía Judicial, la cual consiste en:
a) Documentos de identidad de los procesados;
b) Folletos, libros, afiches, apuntes de clases;
c) Autoincriminaciones y declaraciones en la instancia de policía Judicial, desmentidos en las indagatorias y confesorías, denunciando haber sido obtenidas mediante
torturas;
d) Informes técnicos del FBI y de expertos de la Policía;
e) Publicaciones de prensa, declaraciones de Ministros y otras autoridades;
f) Evidencias materiales (croquis de los lugares donde se habrían producido los hechos, material explosivo, herramientas, etc.), presuntamente encontrados en casas
donde se produjo allanamiento en ausencia de sus moradores.
En tercer lugar, al parecer los jueces, tanto el del Sumario cuanto el del Plenario, no tomaron en cuenta o las consideraron irrelevantes, las pruebas de descargo,
consistentes en:
a) Declaraciones testificales (fs. 619 a 623, 672 a 675 vta.).
b) Declaraciones y certificados por los que se establece que Juan Nelson Encinas es egresado de b carrera de Electromecánica y estudiante de b carrera de
electrónica de la UMSA, por lo que algunas herramientas (alicates, bobinas, batería, etc.) y materiales (alambres, cinta aislante, etc.) son propias de su actividad de
trabajo y estudio.
c) Plan de estudios de la carrera de Sociología, que contiene un módulo específico de estudio del levantamiento de Zárate Willca en el siglo pasado, con el que
concuerdan algunos apuntes encontrados en casas de los detenidos.
d) Publicaciones y convocatorias a seminarios y talleres de la denominada "Escuela de Formación Zárate Willca", que funcionaba en casas de los detenidos.
e) Certificado de SAMAPA (fs. 1306 de obrados) ratificado por prueba testifical (fs. 1476 de obrados) por el que consta que Juan Nelson Encinas Laguna, el 8 de
agosto de 1988 a la hora en que se produjo el atentado contra George Schulz, se encontraba trabajando "en los talleres de mecánica de SAMAPA".
f) Declaración Pública de la Fiscal de Distrito, Dra. Zelema Zegarra, manifestando que "en el proceso Zárate Willca no existen pruebas contra los detenidos
"(Periódico"Hoy", 15/09/89, fs. 679 de obrados).
g) Nota manuscrita del Cnl. Antonio Rojas ofreciendo a los familiares de Constantino Yujra que persuadan a éste para incriminar a los hermanos Encinas, a cambio
de su libertad y "salida al exterior"
h) Declaración del Cap. Jaime Paredes Sempértegui, como testigo de descargo (fs. 1383 y sgtes. de obrados), desmintiendo acusaciones.
i) Declaraciones públicas del entonces Presidente de la República, Jaime Paz Zamora, señalando que el autor del atentado a George Schulz "era tun borrachito" y
que no existe el denominado Grupo "Zárate Willca". Cursa en obrados el video cassette que también se incluye en el presente informe.
j) Declaraciones del Embajador de EE.UU., Sr. Robert Gelbard, que dijo el 29/11/90:
"somos blanco (se refiere a EE.UU." de esas acciones en la mayoría de los casos registrados especialmente en lo que se refiere al atentado contra los
Marines el 10 de octubre, luego el asesinato de los dos mormones el año pasado y el atentado contra el Secretario de Estado (George) Schulz, cometido el
año 1988".
" ..estarnos muy preocupados todavía sobre la situación de los atentados producidos por tos Zárate Willca cuyos autores no han sido capturados.."
(Periódico "Ultima Hora", 28/11/90, fs. 1373 de obrados).
k) Certificados de nacimiento de los hermanos Encinas Laguna, por los que consta que en 1971 tenían 9 y 8 años de edad, cuando un "informe reservado" de la
Policía Nacional les atribuiría militancia, ese año, en el ELN.
En cuarto lugar, al parecer no motivó reflexión alguna en los jueces ni les llamó la atención lo ocurrido en la Audiencia de Reconstrucción de la muerte de los
ciudadanos estadounidenses tantas veces mencionados, oportunidad en que el Cnl. Antonio Rojas, responsable de las investigaciones, manifestó:
"...ninguna de las personas que se encuentran detenidas son autores materiales, quienes han participado dentro de estos hechos, se hayan prófugos..." (fs.
1093 de obrados).
El mismo Cnl. Rojas, ante esta Comisión Camaral, sostiene:
"...para mi siguen siendo inocentes (se refiere a los presos) dentro el caso de los mormones (...) pero si los prófugos hacen presumir que pueden ser los
autores" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 18).
En esa misma declaración, recuerda un principio fundamental del debido proceso:
"...nosotros en tas Diligencias de Policía Judicial no decimos si son autores o no son autores, solamente damos pautas de la investigación (...) el que
realmente va a juzgar y a decir si es autor o no, es el Juez".
"...si eles (se refiere a los procesados) por ejemplo, después de los atentados al señor Schulz, al Congreso al Comisariato y también a los mormones (...)
han tenido el `modus operandi` de mandar cartas a los diferentes medios de comunicación, ese es un indicio que pueden también ser ellos tal vez, es un
indicio nada más, porque es un 'modus operandi`(..,) que encuentra la Policía para que el señor juzgador pueda tomarlo en cuenta o no"(Declaración
Informativa, fs. 18).
Sin embargo, los fiscales y los jueces del sumario y del plenario, convierten estos elementos indiciarios recogidos en Diligencias de Policía Judicial, junto con
declaraciones autoincriminatorias en la investigación policial, desmentidas en el juicio, obtenidas presumiblemente por medios ilícitos (torturas,
promesas, amenazas, etc.), publicaciones de prensa, documentos y objetos conseguidos en requisas y allanamientos irregulares, en suficientes indicios de
culpabilidad y en "plena pruebas" (Arts. 220 y 243, Código de Procedimiento Penal).
1.6. Represión contra los familiares para obtener autoincriminaciones.
Con la frecuencia que hace suponer la existencia de un método sistemáticamente aplicado, los familiares y amigos de los detenidos y perseguidos afirman haber
sufrido distintas formas de represión, incluyendo la muerte no esclarecida de Juan D. Peralta, hermano de Johnny J. Peralta.
a) Intimidación, allanamientos, requisas.
Según relatan familiares de los hermanos Encinas Laguna, ya estando presos los procesados, se mantuvo por mucho tiempo una vigilancia de 24 horas sobre la casa
de su familia, realizando seguimiento a sus integrantes, así como allanamientos sorpresivos y frecuentes
Nelson Encinas afirma:
"Entraron con violencia, con fuerza, estaban portando armas, intimidaron a toda mi familia, tengo muchos sobrinos.
"Después entraron a la casa de un hermano mío".
"... mi familia fue hostigada permanentemente, una de las formas de tortura era amenazar con detener a mis otros hermanos, a mis familiares, a mis
sobrinos (...) golpeaban en mí delante a mi hermano (... ) y me decían 'si no quieres que le sigamos dando, es mejor que hables.
". ..a nuestras visitas, a nuestros amigos, apenas venían a visitar (en la Cárcel de San Pedro) ya eran objeto de investigación.."
"...en el penal de Chonchocoro el problema que tengo es con nuestras visitas, es permanente la manera cómo molestan a nuestras visitas (...) Teníamos
alguna gente que nos visitaba, familiares de tercer grado, tíos, están escarmentados, nos han dicho que ya no los vamos a ver..." (Declaración Informativa,
fs. 2, 3, 8, 12 y 13).
Por su parte, Félix Encinas sostiene:
"Se han ensañado con nuestros familiares..."
"Han agredido a nuestra familia, han agredido de Versas formas, desde los bloqueos desde los despidos de sus trabajos, desde la difamación de ir al
barrio donde uno vive, decir 'miren no se metan con los hermanos Encinas, que son terroristas, que son esto, que son lo otro... ` (Declaración
Informativa, fs. 7 y 8)
Constantino Yujra, también denuncia:
"...ha sido detenida mi enamorada ...) la habían enmanillado en una silla y pues comenzó el interrogatorio, vi que puro sopapos, jalones de cabello le
hicieron hablar cosas inexistentes..."
"...me decía (un agente):`mire, ayúdenos, coopérenos, apesta su enamorada llorando, para qué vas a hacer sufrir demasiado a tu familia, además tu papá
ya está preso aquí, tu hermana también ya esta presa..."
"...mi padre estaba preso por unas horas nada más, al cual sacaron la chamarra para poderme mostrar, incluso le quitaron la célula de identidad; mi
enamorada estaba presa, mi primo también estaba preso. A mi enamorada parece que, no se todavía, la han sacado del país y nunca más la he vuelto a
ver(...) los quince días que ha estado ella detenida, cada noche escuchaba su llanto (Declaración Informativa, fis. 4, 6, 7, 10).
Johnny Justino Peralta Espinoza declara, al respecto:
"Yo pienso que la muerte de mi hermano era como una especie de mensaje para mi persona, un mensaje que se expresaba de la manera más grosera, más
violenta, más cruenta. Yo lo tomaba ese mensaje de la embajada como une especie de chantaje, de presión, de coacción con respecto a mi persona. Para
mi la muerte de mi hermano significaba que yo tenía que entregarme cualquier momento, yo estaba tres años prófugo..." (Declaración Informativa, fs. 2).
Como se tiene apuntado, Johnny J. Peralta fue juzgado en rebeldía y tomado preso "en la etapa final de dictar auto definitivo" ,como afirma el Juez Rivas Grandín.
Durante todo este tiempo, es decir entre junio de 1989 y julio de 1993, se denuncia que la familia del procesado fue hostilizada, perseguida y vigilada. Como lo
destacan la madre y la hermana, en distintos operativos en la casa (hubieron por lo menos 4 alunamientos), los agentes intimidaban a familiares y a vecinos
manifestando que había que "acabar con toda la familia" de "estos terroristas". El hermano del procesado, Juan Domingo Peralta, fue muerto por agentes del CEIP
en un confuso operativo realizado el 20 de julio de 1990.
Sobre estas acciones policiales, Peralta afirma:
"...a mi madre se ta detiene durante tres días sin comer en el Ministerio del interior a mí hermana se le hace dar vueltas en una movilidad, para que me
ubique en la ciudad. Esto ocurre en junio de 1989, en ese entonces mi familia empieza a reconocer a algunos agentes que participan continuamente en los
allanamientos, los primeros encabezados por el Cnl .Antonio Rojas Trujillo, el suboficial Manuel Balboa, los agentes Tito Gomero, Edgar Chávez los
Mayores Humberto Rodríguez y David Rodríguez (Declaración Informativa, fis. 5).
El Fiscal Nemtala según la denuncia , para forzarlo a firmar una declaración autoincriminatoria y acusatoria de otros procesados (incluso contra la madre de Peralta),
decía: "si no eres vos, alguien de tu familia va a caer" (id., fs. 6).
La familia de Susana Zapana, también habría sufrido intimidaciones, varios allanamientos a su vivienda. Su madre fue conducida a dependencias policiales para
"reconocer" una presunta carta de su hija. Asimismo se trató de hacerle admitir que tal carta habría sido recibida por ella. Se trata de una presunta misiva de Susana
Zapana a su madre, comunicándole su decisión de dejar a la familia para "luchar por su causa", como lo afirma el Cnl. Rojas Trujillo:
"..encontramos una carta dirigida a sus señores padres, donde ella decía tácitamente que ella renunciaba a su familia y que empieza a luchar por su
causa" (Declaración Informativa, fs. 10 y 11).
Carta que, al parecer, no fue enviada puesto que el mencionado Cnl. no habla de haber encontrado una copia sino el original.
Para confirmar esa "evidencia", se trató de forzar a la madre a "reconocer" la misma y otros apuntes, croquis, etc, mediante acciones intimidatorias que, al parecer,
sólo se suspendieron cuando los jueces admitieron tales "evidencias como pruebas contra los procesados.
b) Muerte del hermano de uno de los acusados.
El caso más grave de esta denunciada represión contra familiares de los procesados, sin duda, seria la muerte del universitario Juan Domingo Peralta Espinoza,
provocada por disparos de armas de fuego realizados por agentes de Policía, en las cercanías de su casa, barrio Alto Tacagua de La Paz, en fecha 20 de julio de
1990.
Aunque la información inmediata que dio el Ministerio del Interior, daba cuenta de que había "caído en combate un miembro de las FAL-Zarate Willca, la Policía no
sostuvo esta versión. Algunos jefes y agentes habrían manifestado que "fue un error" porque se la "confundió con su hermano Johnny" Lo cierto es; que ni el Informe
de diligencias de policía judicial, ni el Auto Inicial del proceso y por lo tanto ni el Auto Final del sumario o la Sentencia, registran el nombre de Juan Domingo Peralta
Espinoza como miembro de la indicada organización irregular, ni como persona vinculada a los hechos por los que se ha condenado a su hermano. Es más, en
ninguno de los allanamientos se lo detuvo, no se lo persiguió, al punto que desarrollaba normalmente sus actividades de estudiante de la facultad de Ingeniería de la
UMSA.
Johnny Peralta of rece la siguiente versión de la muerte de su hermano:
"En el Ministerio del Interior me han dado la versión de que este operativo habían Mandado a gente inexperta, que solamente querían detener a mi
hermano para pedirle explicaciones sobre mi paradero. Yo estaba prófugo desde 1989. Sin embargo, yo he argüido de que cuando se va a detener a una
persona, primero se lo puede hacer de una manera física y si esta persona se resiste y se quiere escapar, se puede disparar un tiro al aire y después a los
pies, pero jamás como lo han hecho con mi hermano, dándole un disparo directamente al corazón y de frente. Las versiones que ha podido recoger Canal
13 universitario y mi familia dan cuenta que en este hecho, cuando se asesina a mi hermano, los agentes directamente han ido apuntándole al cuerpo de
mi hermano, cuando lo asesinan a tres cuadras de mi casa, en Macagua Alto. Los agentes recogen el cuerpo de mi hermano y lo van a arrojar a cinco o
seis cuadras, en un río. Mi hermano todavía, de acuerdo a las versiones de los vecinos, movía y aleteaba los brazos (Declaración Informativa, fis. 1 y 2).
De acuerdo a un documento de Amnistía Internacional,
"A Juan Domingo Peralta Espinoza lo dispararon el 20 de julio de 1990, al ser interceptado por agentes de las fuerzas de seguridad (véase el documento
"Bolivia: Denuncias de violaciones de Derechos humanos cometidas por fuerzas de seguridad", Indice AI:AMR 18/ 04/90). Murió ese mismo día en el
Hospital Juan XXIII, donde al parecer le negaron asistencia médica por órdenes superiores. La información recibida por Amnistía Internacional indica
también que su madre, que trató desesperadamente de obtener asistencia médica para su hipa, fue expulsada a la fuerza del hospital por unos soldados
(había allí más de 20)" (Bolivia: casos de tortura y ejecución extrajudicial cometidos, según denuncia, por las fuerzas de seguridad bolivianas, septiembre
de 1993, Indice AI:AMR 18/03/93/s Distr: SC/CO, Pág.. 8).
De acuerdo a declaraciones prestadas ante la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Cámara de Diputados, por la madre y la hermana del universitario Juan
Domingo Peralta Espinosa, el día 20 de julio de 1990 un grupo de agentes interceptó a horas 6:45, aproximadamente, al indicado estudiante que se dirigía a "rendir
un examen" en la UMSA. En la calle 3 de Mayo, cuando Juan Domingo Peralta buscaba refugio, recibió un impacto de bala que lo derribó. Muchos fueron los
testigos, puesto que la mayoría de los habitantes del barrio que van a esa hora a sus trabajos, conocían al mencionado estudiante y trataron de impedir que fuera
apresado, por cuanto los policías no contaban con mandamiento alguno. Tras este hecho y al ser identificado el cuerpo, uno de los que comandaba el grupo habría
manifestado: "no es él, nos hemos equivocado". Inmediatamente fue trasladado a otro lugar, a orillas de uno de los dos que hay en la zona, donde fue abandonado.
Niños y vecinos avisaron a la madre y hermana de Juan Domingo Peralta sobre lo ocurrido y con la ayuda de un policía que hada su ronda habitual, el herido fue
trasladado en un taxi al Hospital Juan XXIII. Allá no se le presto atención alguna y tampoco se permitió que fuera trasladado a otro centro hospitalario, porque se
habrían recibido órdenes policiales de "no atender al terrorista".
La hermana fue conducida a distintos recintos policiales, incluso en El Alto, para obtener la orden de atención médica o de traslado del herido a otro lugar, porque
así se le ordenó que hiciera. Durante toda la mañana hizo ese recorrido con los agentes de la Policía y ninguna autoridad le otorgó la autorización que querida.
Mientras tanto, la madre observó cómo le negaron atención a su hijo, hasta que éste murió en el Hospital Juan XXIII, bajo estricta vigilancia policial.
Como consta en la denuncia presentada por Lucía Espinoza vda. de Peralta, ante la Fiscalía (27/07/90) y en posteriores actuaciones, las autoridades policiales, del
Ministerio Público y del Ministerio del Interior, recibieron toda la información y los testimonios correspondientes y, sin embargo, el caso no ha sido investigado ni
remitido a las autoridades jurisdiccionales para su procesamiento.
Es muy difícil admitir que nadie sepa, en la Policía, quienes fueron los responsables de esa muerte, ya que supone que existe aun registro del personal asignado a las
distintas misiones.
Johnny J. Peralta, hermano de la víctima, sentenciado a 30 años de presidio, informa
"...en esa muerte, hasta donde nosotros henos podido averiguar y mi familia ha podido averiguar, han participado en ese operativo el Cap. Cancio Pérez,
el agente Edgar Chávez, el agente Lito Tornero, dos agentes de apellidos Flores y Mogoa, el suboficial Manuel Balboa. Por investigaciones que nosotros
hemos podido realizas e/ que supuestamente hubiera disparado contra mi hermano es el agente Mogoa..."
En las conclusiones finales, este INFORME recomienda un tratamiento judicial inmediato a este grave hecho delictivo.
La edición electrónica del presente documento público, ha sido realizada en Madrid (España) por el Equipo Nizkor - Apartado de Correo 15116 -
28080 Madrid.
El departamento de Derechos Humanos de OSPAAAL (Organización para la solidaridad con Africa, Asia y América Latina) puede vender copias
en disquetes a las organizaciones de Derechos Humanos que lo soliciten. Estas copias están editadas en Wordperfect 6.1 y listar para editar
aunque, también, se pueden entregar en otros formatos compatibles.
Para ello, deben dirigirse por fax al número +34.1. 521.1736
O por correo postal al apartado de Correo del Equipo Nizkor. MAILTO: nizkor@derechos.org
Thank you for your quick response to my message. I included e-mails to
those who went home shortly before the event, but were likely
acquainted with Elders Ball and Wilson. As an AP, you were probably
aware of many things that were going on that the average missionary
wasn't. Were you aware of reports of antagonism toward the
missionaries? Was antagonism specifically directed at the Church
because it was perceived as an American organization? Was it against
Americans in general? Were there just a few isolated incidents that
didn't seem important at the time?
I would be happy to share with you or anyone else interested what I
find out while I'm working on this project. I appreciate your help. I
realize that it was probably traumatic to learn of what happened
shortly after you had returned home. Thank you.
If you would like to contact me besides e-mail, my address and phone
number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I prefer e-mail correspondence simply because it lets me have a record
of exactly what you say. However, any information you can share with
me by whatever means is most convenient to you would be most
appreciated. Thank you again for your help.
Tracy Claycomb
From:
"Tracy Claycomb" | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
Date:
Tue, 13 Mar 2001 21:08:01 -0600
I would say that the best person for you to talk to would be Elder
Carlson.
He and his companion (For some reason, I think it was Elder Wiley at
the
time) were roommates with Elders Ball and Wilson at the time they were
killed. Elder Carlson has a very spiritual and testimony sparking
story
about his father and that night. But he will have to tell it to you.
The
mission president told us the story.
As far as missionaries being pulled from the area, They left me and my
group
there for the full 24 months. We were six months away from finishing
at the
time. They sent the three groups prior to ours home each about three
months
early. From what I understood, they could do that at the president's
perogative and still consider it a full mission.
I understand that a lot of things said that North American missionaries
were
paired up with Latin Elders, but from what I recall of the situation,
Zarate
Wilka had issued a statement saying that any Latins caught with the
North
Americans would be considered North Americans as well and be killed. I
was
paired up with a North American companion and moved to the very south
part
of the mission. If my memory serves me correctly, the immediate area
was
closed and surrounding areas were populated with strictly Latin Elders.
There was a push to pair Latin missionaries with North American
companions,
but I don't know how strict that was.
Finally, this is my own belief, I don't have anything backing it up,
but I
don't think Elders Ball and Wilson were the intended targets. I
believe the
group made a mistake and then decided to run with it, seeing that they
hit
on something that could be considered a noble cause to other Bolivians.
Many die hard Bolivians believe the country is enslaved by the rich and
overbearing USA and any push for liberation could win support. I
believe it
to have been nothing but a tragic error.
I hope this helps you. Good luck.
t.c.
Reply:
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 16:18:24 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
Tracy Claycomb , ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you very much for the information you've shared with me. A
couple of other people have also mentioned Elder Thayne Carlson and the
experience he had. I know that Elder Ballard shared in general
conference what might have been a similar experience that President
Wright had. He talked about a dream where Elders Ball and Wilson were
ushering the Bolivian saints into the temple. I don't have Thayne
Carlson's contact information, but I'm working on it. There are a
couple of people who seem to know where he is.
Thank you for your information concerning the response of the church
and the Zarate Willka group. You mentioned a statement you heard about
the group targeting all missionaries, including Latins. Was antagonism
directed specifically against the Church, then? How much of it was
anti-Americanism and against the Church? If, as you believe, the group
made a mistake, who do you think their intended target was?
I appreciate the information you've given me. It is very useful. If
you would like to contact me through means other than e-mail, my
address
and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I prefer e-mail correspondence simply because it lets me have a record
of exactly what you say. However, any information you can share with
me by whatever means is most convenient to you would be most
appreciated. Thank you again for your help.
Ryan Reeder
V. Shane Mylroie
From:
Vsmylroie@gateway.net | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 00:03:46 EST
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Dear Ryan Reeder:
My name is Shane Mylroie and I did serve a mission in La Paz, Bolivia.
This message comes as a surprise and is quite unexpected. The
information
you are asking for is indeed sensitive and is difficult to speak about.
However I would be willing to help you out. I would be interested in
finding
out more about your project and what it's purpose is.
I was there with the missionaries the night they were killed. I, along
with
my companion, was living at the house with them. We were witnesses of
the
scene. I was the first one to find the elders. My companion was
named
Elder Carlson, I bet that as soon as I send this e-mail, I will
remember his
first name.
At this moment I do not have too much time to answer all the questions
you
have, but I would be willing to help out, if we can set a time to talk.
How
soon is this paper due? What time frame are you working with? Please
let me
know what I can do.
Thanks, Shane Mylroie
Phone: 714-626-0282
Address: 12401 Gottes Lane
La Mirada, California 90638
Reply:
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 16:58:53 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
Vsmylroie@gateway.net, ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Wow. I very much appreciate your willingness to help me with this
project, especially as one who was so close to what happened. Thank
you very much.
I can understand if this might be something which is difficult for you
to speak about. I would appreciate any information you would be
willing to share wtih me about what happened that night and the ensuing
response.
I understand that Elder Thayne Carlson, your companion, had some kind
of special experience following what happened. I am trying to find out
how to reach him to learn more.
My project is for a History 490 class at Brigham Young University.
This is the final class required to graduate by the history program.
The course is centered around an original, primary-based 20 page
publishable paper. (This does not mean that it will necessarily be
published. If I ever choose to do so, I will certainly seek your
permission beforehand).
My interest in this project stems largely from my experiences on my own
mission. As I mentioned earlier, I arrived in the Bolivia Cochabamba
Mission some six months after the first American missionaries returned.
The first arrived in September 1994. My group was the seventh from
that time, arriving in March 1995. I don't believe that missionaries
were pulled out of Bolivia solely because of Elders Wilson and Ball,
there were three Peruvian elders killed in Peru in 1990 and 1991, as
you've probably heard, and sometime following that, the decision was
made to withdraw all American missionaries. This was an aspect that
enormously impacted my mission during the time I was there. I was the
first American missionary in my first area since Americans began
returning. When I became a zone leader, it was the first time that two
American elders of European descent had been paired together as zone
leaders since that time. The ratio of American and Latin missionaries
throughout much of my mission seemed to be following a trial period.
During the first year, 53 American Elders arrived and 2 American
sisters. After most had come in groups averaging about five, groups
arriving between July and September 1995 consisted of two or three
elders. Besides two sisters that came with the third group in November
1994, no further American sisters arrived until 14 arrived in groups
consisting only of sisters between October 1995 and March 1996.
Following this, only five new Elders arrived by September 1996. The
last few groups I saw come in until December 1996 indicated that the
mission was increasing the numbers of American Elders and Sisters, and
leaving the transition phase that seemed to take up most of my mission.
I remember talking with a member of the Church during a split in one of
my areas, Omar Mandacco. He indicated to me that he had been called to
reopen the area where the event had taken place. He told me that the
wife of a man we were visiting that day had been in the ambulance with
Elder Wilson when he passed away.
A few years ago, while I was trying to decide what to major in, it was
brought to my attention that not much had been done on the history of
the Church in various regions of the world. Somebody had written a
book on Korea, someone else researched the history of the church in
Mexico, but most of Latin America, where phenomenal growth in the last
few decades has taken place, has not been seriously studied. About a
year and a half ago, I wrote a report on a general history of the
church in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, which I was recently invited to
present at a Student Symposium put on by the Religion Department here
at BYU. I am looking to understand more of this event, then, because
of the personal impact it has had in my life and because of the
sucession of my studies here.
A rough draft of this paper is actually due on Friday, but the paper
itself is not due until the 11th of April, in four weeks. Thus far, I
have mainly limited my research to available printed accounts, and have
only begun to look for information from former missionaries and other
people. Your account is one of the most important to me.
Again, I appreciate very much your willingness to help me out, despite
the sensitive nature of the topic to you personally. If you would like
to contact me through means other than e-mail, my address
and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I prefer e-mail correspondence simply because it lets me have a record
of exactly what you say. However, any information you feel willing to
share with me by whatever means is most convenient to you would be most
appreciated. Thank you again for your help.
Sincerely,
Ryan Reeder
Reply:
From:
Vsmylroie@gateway.net | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Date:
Thu, 15 Mar 2001 00:32:07 EST
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Dear Ryan, I read your e-mail reply. I think I could find some time
this
weekend to begin answering some of your questions. Keep me posted.
Shane
Mylroie
J. Carlos Aguero
From:
"J. Carlos Aguero" | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 04:49:57 -0400
Please give me a call so we can sit down and talk. I am still at BYU studying. I don't have lots of information but I can get some from you.
Carlos Aguero
724-978 7
Reply:
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 18:10:52 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
carlos986@hotmail.com
Thank you for your response and willingness to help me. I noticed that
you were in the area from the information on the mission home page and
your web site. I would like to talk with you, if that's more
convenient for you. My address and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I prefer e-mail correspondence simply because it lets me have a record
of exactly what you say. However, any information you can share with
me by whatever means is most convenient to you would be most
appreciated. Thank you again for your help.
Mark Smith
From:
MealBoy@aol.com | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 09:18:26 EST
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Ryan
I have a lot of information, but I do not have time right now to give it.
Elder Spencer Kuhn was the assistant at the time, he had just taken over for
me, and was one of the first to get there from the mission. I know he now
lives in the Laguna Beach area of Southern California, but I do not have any
more information. I was part of the group sent home with the most time left
- 3 months. Feel free to call me some time and I will give you as much as I
remember.
Mark Smith
Home (703) 536-5356
Work (703) 502-0700
Ironically, I work for a company that makes bulletproof vests.
Mark Smith
PT Body Armor
(703) 502-0700 Ext. 129
(800) 84 ARMOR
Mealboy@aol.com
Markptarmor@aol.com
Reply:
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 17:09:22 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
MealBoy@aol.com, ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you for your response to my e-mail. I can understand the time
limitations a lot of people might have for this. However, your
experiences as an AP would be very interesting in understanding what
kind of political agitation was going on at the time, how much of it
was directed at the Church as perceived as an American organization,
accounts of what had been going on, and so forth. My address
and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I prefer e-mail correspondence simply because it lets me have a record
of exactly what you say. However, any information you can share with
me by whatever means is most convenient to you would be most
appreciated. If you would prefer for me to call you sometime, let me
know when the best time to reach you is. Thank you again for your help.
Ryan Reeder
Patty Perez
From:
Logemi@aol.com | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 15:20:00 EST
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Hi Ryan ,the person that you're looking for dosent live here ,she comes and
uses my computer maybe once a month so i will let her know .
PATTY PEREZ
Reply:
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 17:10:51 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you for your courtesy. I appreciate your helping me out with
this project.
Ryan Reeder
Chris Blackburn
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 14:55:26 -0800
From:
Chris Blackburn | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
You are in luck. I knew Jeffery quite well, but it has been a long
time. We lived together in Oruro for several months. Although we were
never companions we lived together, did splits and chumed around
together. I also now live a mile or two from Elder Carlson. He was one of the
witnesses to the crime, he lived with Jeff at the time. If you cannot
get a hold of him I can try for you. Would you like me to respond to
each question below or just give an overview w/ stories, memories or
what? Also, out of curiosity, what is the project a paper, article, or
study?
Reply:
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 17:24:33 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
Chris Blackburn , ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you for your response to my e-mail. I would greatly appreciate
whatever information you have for me.
The questions I asked were intended as an overview of things I'm
looking at. If you have information on the topics that I wrote about,
that would be great. If you have answers to questions I didn't think
to ask, that would be excellent as well. I'm basically looking for any
information you might have that would help me out in writing this
paper.
Others have mentioned Elder Thayne Carlson. Some have mentioned an
experience he had. I would be very much interested in hearing from
him, but I don't have his contact information. Paul Colton, who also
lives in Las Vegas, said he would try to reach him through others, such
as yourself, who might know more. If I could, I would be very pleased
to be able to contact him. I have also received a response from his
companion at the time. I would be grateful for their willingness to
share whatever information they have.
My project is for a History 490 class at Brigham Young University.
This is the final class required by the history program to graduate.
The course is centered around an original, primary source-based 20 page
publishable paper. I am interested in this particular project largely
because of the impact it had on my own mission 6-7 years later, when
American missionaries were just returning. Also, I understand that not
much has been done in researching the history of the Church in Latin
American countries which have seen phenomenal growth in the last few
decades. I am interested in that, and have done some study about that
topic.
If you would like to contact me through a means other than e-mail, my
address
and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I prefer e-mail correspondence simply because it lets me have a record
of exactly what you say. However, any information you feel willing to
share with me by whatever means is most convenient to you would be most
appreciated. Thank you again for your help.
Ryan Reeder
Lynn Florman
Date:
Thu, 13 Dec 2001 22:54:26 -0600
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
From:
Lynn Florman | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Bolivian missionaries
Dear Ryan,
I left Bolivia less than a month before the two Elders were killed, so
I
had only briefly come in contact with them. I was also serving in
LaPaz at
the time and lived about a mile from the site of the shooting. I don't
know much about the actual event because I was out of the country by
then
and only heard about it from a Church News article. However, there
were
many events leading up to it that you may or may not already know
about.
I was living in the Barrio Alto San Pedro during the last few months of
my
mission. At one point I had a cavity and had to go down to the
University
dental school where a member there filled my tooth. Being an American,
I
was accosted by several small groups of angry students who asked me why
the
United States thought that it could force Bolivia's poor to stop
growing
the coca plant since so many Bolivian campesinos relied upon it for
their
income. They were angry with the idea that they should have to change
their coca culture because our citizens had a problem with drugs.
(Probably
not a bad argument...) I noticed that several times over the next few
weeks some people would hiss "Americana" when they would pass us in the
street.
At one point, the chapel in Villa Victoria (a few blocks from where the
Elders were killed, and in their area) had it's doors blown off in an
explosion just after several members had left a choir practice one
evening. We saw it the next day, and were shown how the intruders had
sawed one part of the back fence enough to be able to swing it up and
crawl
under it to get into the church grounds. Witnesses that night said
that
they had seen a cardboard box under the pew inside the front door,
which is
where the explosion occurred. All of us were concerned, especially
because
the graffiti written on the side of the chapel said "Americans go
home." However, no instructions were given for us to stay inside or
change
our schedule. No one left the mission at the time as a result of that
incident.
It seems a couple weeks later, we were talking with a family in the
Barrio
Alto San Pedro about an incident that had happened after Mutual the
night
before. This family lived across the street from the chapel. That
night
their young son had seen a cardboard box under the pew by the front
door
and had brought it home thinking that it belonged to one of the
members. The next morning he showed it to his mother, who opened the
box. Inside was a bomb that had not detonated. The family left their
home
and called police, who came to investigate the bomb. According to this
family, the bomb had two wires, one which acted as a backup. The
police
told them that, although the first wire was disconnected, the second
was
still in tact, and they had no explanation why the bomb had not gone
off. The mother was convinced that it was a miracle. Again the
graffiti
on the chapel said "Americans go home."
At this point I remember calling President Steven Wright and relaying
the
events at the Alto San Pedro chapel. I asked him if he thought it was
safe
for us to continue to work, or if there was something that we should do
to
protect ourselves. He said that he did not feel inspired to pull
American
missionaries from Bolivia at that time, or to have us change our
schedules
(coming home early) or appearance (such as no white shirts for the
Elders). He told me that I should live close to the spirit and follow
that
inspiration. I can tell you that there were several times that my
companion and I felt uneasy on the streets and came home early (before
dark) because we felt something was wrong. Other times, we were out
past
dark, walking home alone in deserted streets, and felt perfectly safe.
I
don't know that we were ever a target, but I am sure that a 5' 9"
female of
Norwegian descent screamed "AMERICAN" to everyone who saw us. I was
very
nervous, as were my parents.
When I came home, I had not been home long when I heard news of the
shooting. Given my recent past experiences in that area, I was
saddened,
but not really surprised. I had heard that they had increased the
number
of Bolivian missionaries and decreased the number of Americans, but I
was
not certain of the percentages. I never heard that they had stopped
sending American missionaries into Bolivia. None of my past companions
commented on it, but I had a lot of difficulty getting mail in or out
of
Bolivia after I came home, and have lost contact with many of my
Bolivian
friends as a result.
I will look through my mission journals and see if I can find any names
of
people that were in the area when I left. They may be able to help you
more than I can.
Good luck in your search. I would be interested in learning more about
what happened, only because I am from Minnesota, and never really got
the
full story behind what had happened. Judging by your questions, much
more
is known about the incident than I ever knew.
Sincerely,
Lynn Florman
Lynn.Florman@worldnet.att.net
Reply:
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2001 17:42:59 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Bolivian missionaries
To:
Lynn Florman , ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you for your response to my e-mail. Your personal experiences of
events leading up to the assassination are very interesting and useful.
Thank you for being willing to share them with me.
Do you feel that the Church was targeted specifically because it was
perceived as an American organization? Was there any antagonism
directed against the Church specifically or was it generally just
anti-Americanism?
If you're interested in my experiences, I arrived in the Bolivia
Cochabamba Mission in March 1995. My group was the seventh from the
time that the first American missionaries arrived in September 1994.
To my knowledge, there were no American missionaries in my mission when
they arrived. I understand that the situation was similar in other
missions in Bolivia and Peru, though the time that missionaries began
to return may have varied. About fifty American elders arrived during
the first year, by September 1995. There were only two American
sisters, who arrived in the third group in November 1994. Sisters
began returning in October 1995, and by March 1996, there were 14. For
several months thereafter, only a handful of American Elders arrived.
Starting in September 1996, groups of American missionaries began
arriving more frequently. It seemed like my mission covered a time of
transition in the area. Throughout most of my mission, Americans
constituted about 30% of the mission, Bolivians 60%, and other Latin
American countries 10%. I've heard that since I've been home, the
ratio has risen to about 50/50.
Again, I appreciate your willingness to share your experiences with me.
I would be happy to share with you what I learn through this research.
If you would like to contact me through a means other than e-mail to
share additional information, my address and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I prefer e-mail correspondence simply because it lets me have a record
of exactly what you say. However, any information you feel willing to
share with me by whatever means is most convenient to you would be most
appreciated. Thank you again for your help.
Ryan Reeder
Reply:
From:
"Steve Florman" | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To:
"ryan reeder"
Subject:
Re: Bolivian missionaries
Date:
Wed, 19 Dec 2001 16:30:37 -0600
In response to your question, I definitely feel that missionaries were
targeted because they were percieved as American undercover CIA or some
such
subversive group. That was what I was told by several groups of angry
students and other politically active Bolivians. They stood out in
white
shirts and ties and were percieved as rich, and as such were going to
take
advantage of poor and innocent Bolivian civilians as other American
corporations have done in the mining sector over the years. They come
with
capital, build a thriving business, and then export all of the gold,
copper,
silver or tin leaving Bolivia as poor as they found it. There are some
real
economic flaws in this argument, but it is one I heard over and over.
One
Bishop in Munaypata told my companion and I that if we really cared
about
the church, we would pay their rent for the building each month out of
our
living expenses. The misconceptions were damaging to our relationships
with
other Bolivians. I think that the church as a whole was viewed as just
another predatory American organization out to get Bolivians, and as
such,
was a target. The fact that it is a church was irrelevant. It was
American, and everything American was bad at that time. Maybe it still
is,
I don't know.
Let me know if I can help further!
Lynn
Reply:
Date:
Tue, 20 Mar 2001 22:05:32 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Bolivian missionaries
To:
Steve Florman
CC:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you for your help. I appreciate your perspective on what was the
general feeling toward Americans at the time. It is helpful in
understanding why the Church and its missionaries were targeted.
If you would like to contact me other than by e-mail, my address and
phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I do prefer e-mail, since I have a record of what you say. Again,
thank you for your help.
Ryan Reeder
Kirt McNeil
From:
"Kirt_M" | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To:
"ryan reeder"
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
Date:
Thu, 15 Mar 2001 17:40:51 -0700
My name is Kirt McNeil and I was one of Todd Wilson's companions in the
MTC.
I was in La Paz at the time and I think I have quite a bit of
information
that I think you would be interested in. However, I have absolutely no
patience to sit here and write the whole thing in an e-mail. My phone
number is (480) 655-7919. I live in Mesa Arizona, so I am in the same
time
zone as you are. Feel free to give me a call late afternoons or
evenings.
Kirt McNeil
Luis Antonio Rodrigues
From:
"luis antonio rodrigues" | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Date:
Fri, 16 Mar 2001 17:20:55 -0400
hola ya lei su carta y yo le dare todo lo que se y lo que vivi durante
ese
tiempo
ya que fue muy duro y recordar aesos hombres, que fueron muy tan buenos
que
solo yo los recuerdo
estare en contacto para ayudarlo
cuente con migo
ya que estudio comunicación
Michael Meza
From:
"Michael Meza" | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To:
"ryan reeder"
Subject:
RE: Looking for information
Date:
Sat, 17 Mar 2001 22:04:56 -0800
Elder Reeder,
I have some of the information you are looking for. I have the La Paz
newspaper that cover the assassination of the Elders. I was in the same
Zone
when it all transpired. Previous to the tragedy, I had served with
Elder
Wilson in the Sopocachi Zone. I might still have a copy of the LA Times
as
well as the Church News. A LDS Historian by the name of David Knowlton
has
written a few articles, such as; "Gringo Jeringo": Anglo Mormon
Missionary
Culture in Bolivia which is found in a book entitled- Contemporary
Mormonism
Social Science Perspectives. He also wrote "Missionaries and Terror:
Background and Implications of the Assassination of Two Missionaries in
Bolivia. David Knowlton is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at
Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. If you would like me to
send
you the information stated above please provide your mailing address.
Good Luck and please be careful with what you learn.
Mike
Reply:
Date:
Tue, 20 Mar 2001 20:23:43 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
RE: Looking for information
To:
Michael Meza
CC:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you for your help. I've been able to locate both articles by
David Knowlton (he might be a good person to talk to) thanks to your
information. I have Church News articles, but if you would like to
send me a copy of the La Paz article, that would be very interesting.
My address and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I appreciate your willingness to help me with this project. If you
have any other information, since you were so close to the tragedy when
it happened, it would be appreciated. Thank you for your help.
And I will do everything in my power to behave responsibly with this
information.
Ryan Reeder
Lon Egbert
Date:
Sun, 18 Mar 2001 21:35:15 -0800
From:
Melanie Egbert | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To:
ryan reeder
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
I hope you got some help. If I remember Elder Mylroie was one of the
other companions in the apartment at the time of the shooting.
vsmylroie@gateway.net
I did get some newspaper articles in Bolivia and Utah I believe
regarding the capture of these men. I do still remember the incident
as
if it was yesterday. You are right those of us that were there and
lived near by or new these elders have sad feeling about the incident.
If you get plenty of info great if not I think you may get first hand
from Mylroie if he chooses to share. He didn't talk much then and
hasn't since, but you may try.
Lon Egbert
Reply:
Date:
Tue, 20 Mar 2001 20:28:46 -0800 (PST)
From:
ryan reeder | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Subject:
Re: Looking for information
To:
Melanie Egbert
CC:
ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
I appreciate your response to my e-mail. I understand that sharing may
be difficult, but whatever firsthand information you have would be
appreciated. If you have Bolivian newspaper articles, I would like to
read them or copies. I have been able to communicate with Shane
Mylroie, though he has not yet shared with me his experiences. I've
also heard of Thayne Carlson, but have not talked with him either.
My address and phone number are:
Ryan Reeder
139 East 400 North Apt 5
Provo, Utah 84606
(801) 374-1215
I appreciate whatever help you're willing to provide me with. Thank
you.
Ryan Reeder
Kenna Anderson
To: ryan_reeder@yahoo.com Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 11:17:19 -0700 Subject: Re: Looking for information From: Michael R Manwaring
I'm sorry it took me so long to answer, I have recently changed my e mail address and don't check this one very often. I hope it isn't too late for you. I'll try to answer as best I can. I did not know the Elders that were assassinated personally but the missionaries I knew that did know them all thought very highly of them and felt they were good missionaries. The two months following the Elders death were difficult. We had to spend one full week confined to our homes most of the time and wearing p-day clothes when we did leave. Once we resumed working again we couldn't wear our name tags and had to be in before dark. We also had received instruction from the security department of the church that we had to change our routine every day and not do the same things at the same time. That was because the assassins that had killed the Elders had watched them for several days and knew what their schedule was and when they would be coming home and from where. I was serving in a mining town called Huanuni way up in the Andes and because of some unrest and threats in other mining towns we were pulled out of there over the fourth of July and all missionaries had to stay in doors. Because we were in a small town and there were no phones, our zone leaders had to come out and find us both after the Elders were killed and when they pulled us out over the 4th of July. There were no buses in town and the buses that came in and out of town all quit at sundown so when our zone leaders came out they had to look for us. By the time they found us on the 3rd of July it was late. We then had to try and find the Elders so that we could leave on the last bus. I remember running clear across town to their dinner appointment hoping to find them and having very little time to do it. We barely made it. One of the missionaries that had been in the apartment when the Elders were killed was in Oruro (our zone) at that time. He had been sent there after the assassinations. I am not sure of his name (more because I'm horrible at remembering them) and didn't know him very well. I know it was very hard on him and we really didn't talk about it much to spare his feelings. He was a really neat missionary though. My companion Sister Whetten and I were both Blonde and definitely stood out in that small town. Everyone knew who we were and where we lived. I guess I felt some of the precautions we took really didn't work very well for us because we couldn't blend in no matter what we did. I'm sure it worked better in the larger towns. All of the Bolivians we had contact with thought the deaths of the missionaries was very sad and did not have anti American feelings. More doors were opened and more interest shown in our message as a result of the assasinations as well. Though it was a little scarry through all of that I never feared for my life. My only fear was that I would get pulled out of Bolivia and that came true. I was one of the six sister missionaries that were transferred to the Houston Texas Spanish speaking mission when they made the reduction of missionaries. It was very difficult for me to make that transfer because even though I had only been in Bolivia for 5 months I spoke Spanish fluently before my mission and had already grown to love Bolivia and the Bolivian people. All of the American missionaries that had 3 months or less left in the field were sent home early and the sister missionaries that had been in Bolivia for less then six months were sent to Houston. All other American missionaries stayed and finished serving in Bolivia. That was not an easy thing for me because there were only 6 of us that were reassigned and I didn't see what difference those six would make. However, we each received a new letter from the Prophet telling us that we had been called to serve a mission and assigned to serve in Bolivia and now the assignment had been changed. Seeing his signature changed my feelings and I knew that I needed to serve as I was asked. It wasn't easy but it was right. I later had experiences in Houston that helped me know that I was supposed to be there too and for some reason I was supposed to serve two totally different missions. If you have any other questions please contact me at mmkenna1@qwest.net. Good luck on your paper. I would like to read it if you wouldn't mind when you are finished. I don't care if you use my name or not. It doesn't matter to me. Don't feel like you have to either.
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:19:35 -0800 (PST) From: ryan reeder ryan_reeder@yahoo.comSubject: Re: Looking for information To: mmkenna1@qwest.net CC: ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Thank you for your response. The information you've chosen to share is very interesting and useful. It's interesting to find out something of what happened during the following days, weeks, and months after the assassinations. Thank you for sharing how these experiences personally impacted you. I've found out that Elders Shane Mylroie and Thayne Carlson were sharing the apartment at the time. I haven't yet found out much more, though. A Deseret News article (Marianne Funk, Staff Writer, "LDS CHURCH COUNSELS MISSIONARIES IN BOLIVIA ON SAFETY PRECAUTIONS," 6/21/89, B1; also quoted in Church News, "`WISELY, CAUTIOUSLY,' MISSIONARY WORK PROCEEDS IN BOLIVIA," 6/24/89, 5) quotes Elder M. Russell Ballard after he returned from a tour of missions in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador as saying ""Contrary to rumors I've heard since I returned," he said, "the missionary elders are still wearing white shirts and ties, the sister missionaries are dressing as they always have, and the missionaries are wearing their name tags." " Was it only for a few days or weeks that you didn't wear name tags, or did you not wear them for the remainder of your time in Bolivia, and there was some kind of misunderstanding? Again, thank you very much for your help in this project. Sincerely, Ryan Reeder
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 17:20:04 -0700 From: "Mike Manwaring" To: "ryan reeder" Subject: Re: Looking for information
Thanks for the names of the Elders that shared the Apartment. It was Shane Mylroie that I knew a little. Also as far as the name tags were concerned I don't remember how long we went without them, it was probably just for a few weeks. I was transfered just three months after the Elders were killed and to be honest I forget some of the little details because there were so many big details for me. We only wore pday clothes the first week when we went out and only went out when absolutely neccesary. After that we wore our missionary clothes. Boy this brings back a lot of memories. It was a hard time but a great time too. It sure brought all the missionaries and members together. It still breaks my heart that I couldn't finish my mission there, even though I loved Houston too. Good luck! Sheri (Dimter) Futch
From: Sherbear97@aol.com | Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2001 17:51:59 EDT Subject: Re: Looking for information To: ryan_reeder@yahoo.com
Dear Ryan,
Hello. My name is Sheri Futch (prior Sheri Dimter) and I'm sorry that
this
reply is so late in coming to you. I was very interested in your
email, then
traveled, got sick, etc. and wanted to respond when I had a moment.
Anyway,
hopefully your report hasn't already been due. I came home from the
Bolivia
LaPaz Mission on Mar. 2nd, 1989 so I wasn't present at the time of the
assassinations but I did know both elders and worked w/ both of them.
I was
at BYU for spring term when I learned of the killings, I believe from
another
mission friend, then the newspapers, and news there. It was
devastating and
I knew that it would really affect all my friends that were still in
the
mission. I had several friends returning home that summer, a few a bit
early
before the rearrangements started. I only know that the missionaries
were
returning home and were shot in front of their apt. by a leftist,
extreme
group that I understood (maybe it's wrong) were upset about the US Drug
Enforcement Agency cracking down on drug trafficking from various
countries
south of the border and that they represented possibly many upset
campesinos
who made their living raising and being involved in the processing/sale
of
drugs (cocaine mainly). I had heard there was a hit list which also
included names of other missionaries and Americans in the area. That's
all I
know there. I worked w/ Elder Ball when he was a greenie and he was in
my
district I believe in LaPaz. He was a great greenie- on fire and all.
I
knew E. Wilson better. He was my district leader in Achumani, LaPaz
and I
just looked at a picture of him. For Christmas 1988, when he was DL,
we were
giving out hot chocolate and gifts to the kids in a poor area above
Achumani
on those mesas (can't remember the name of the area). Elder Wilson was
Santa
Claus and he was in a full Santa suit (don't ask me how we got a hold
of
one). He had kids on his lap and it was a fun time and great memory.
He was
a bit shy, but very kind and gentle. He was always happy. I made it
to E.
Ball's funeral in utah, but not to Elder Wilson's (I believe it was in
Wellsville, where he was from). They were both great and it was very
sad and
devastating. I didn't hear anything about Zarate Willka group
afterwards.
Maybe you could update us! It was publicized after the deaths, but not
majorly. I believe anti- American sentiment while I was there was just
a few
fringe group organizations. The only time I really felt anything
against us
was in front of one of our chapels once there some local started
yelling at
us calling us a "rich church", snobs, etc. That was it. Mainly they
were
enchanted by Americans and wanted to talk w/ us, look at my blonde hair
:-)
and speak English, the usual. Good luck on your paper. It would be
great to
hear a follow up from you to all of us on the web page. Sincerely,
