(EST PUB DATE) TERRORISM REVIEW

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00844616
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: March 16, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 2, 2016
• Case Number: F-2016-00363
• Publication Date: November 1, 1992

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Director of Central Intelligence
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Terrorism Review
November 1992
Counterterrorist Center
DI TR 921)12
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Terrorism Review
November 1992
Latin America: Columbus Day Violence Muted
Terrorist groups conducted a variety of attacks in mid-October to
commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the
Americas. The level of violence was lower than anticipated in many
countries, however, because of heightened security and the lack of
official celebrations
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DI TR 92-012
November 1992
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Chronology of Terrorism 1992
This review is published monthly bv the DCI Counterterrorist
Center.
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Latin America: Columbus Day
Violence Muted
Terrorist groups conducted a variety of attacks in mid-
October to commemorate the 500th anniversary of
Columbus's arrival in the Americas, but the level of
violence was lower than anticipated in many countries
because of heightened security and the lack of official
celebrations. Latin American terrorists carried out
some 20 minor bombings, primarily against govern-
ment facilities and symbolic US and Spanish targets;
the attacks caused property damage, but no deaths.
Most anti-US attacks in Latin America occurred in
Chile, where terrorists bombed five Mormon chapels
and a Citibank office. The most serious anti-US
incident was a failed mortar attack by Peru's Tupac
Amaru Revolutionary Movment (MRTA) on the US
Ambassador's residence in Lima. Indian and leftist
groups also held mostly peaceful marches and demon-
strations throughout Latin America to gain media
exposure for their causes. Quincentennial-related vio-
lence outside the region consisted of several bombings
and violent demonstrations in the Dominican Republic,
the bombing of the Peruvian Consulate in Turkey by
Dev Sol, and a violent protest in San Francisco.
California, where demonstrators burned police vehi-
cles.
Chile
Chilean terrorists conducted several low-intensity
bombings against Spanish and US targets to com-
memorate the Columbus Day anniversary. Although
the bombings caused limited property damage and
one injury, they represented the first significant round
of attacks against foreigners in Chile since 1991,
when the Chilean terrorists conducted a series of anti-
US attacks to protest US involvement in the Persian
Gulf. On 7 October, a bomb exploded at a Spanish
sports club in Santiago. The following day, terrorists
threw two small bombs at the Spanish Embassy,
causing minor property damage. The ensuing firefight
between the attackers and Embassy guards injured
one passer-by. Terrorists also bombed a Spanish bank.
Anti-US attacks consisted of bombings of a Citibank
office and five Mormon chapels. The United Popular
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Action Movement/Lautaro (MAPU/L), a leftist ter-
rorist group that frequently targets Mormon chapels,
claiming they are instruments of US imperialism,
took credit for bombing at least two of the chapels.
MAPU/L also claimed responsibility for the Citibank
attack.
Bolivia
Subdued Columbus Day protests in Bolivia belied
government fears of terrorist attacks and widespread
Indian violence.
The on y terrorist attack during the Colum-
bus Day anniversary occurred in Cochabamba in
central Bolivia, where a bomb damaged the Palace of
Justice. No group claimed credit for the attack.
Indian groups held large rallies and marches in major
cities, but few violent incidents were reported. In La
Paz, 20,000 to 25,000 peasants, miners, students, and
union members conducted a peaceful march past the
US Embassy, shouting anti-US and anti-Spanish
chants. Bolivian security officials adopted a noncon-
frontational approach toward the protesters to avoid
provoking violence. Marchers in La Paz also convened
the first "Assembly of Original Peoples," but rainy
weather and the inability of the many groups attend-
ing to reconcile their conflicting agendas quickly
broke up the meeting
Ecuador
Columbus Day also passed relatively peacefully in
Ecuador, where officials had feared widespread vio-
lence by Indian groups.
only two serious incidents during the Quincentennial;
DI TR 92-012
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one woman was struck and killed by a car that ran
through a roadblock, and another person died during
an attempt by Indians to take over a cooperative farm.
Protest activities consisted of traffic disruptions along
highways in the Andean highlands and several
marches and rallies hroughout the country.
Indian groups constructed road-
blocks, dug trenches in the road, and dynamited a
section of the Pan-American Highway near Quito to
slow vehicle traffic. Large demonstrations were re-
ported throughout the highlands, but fewer protesters
than expected attended a planned rally in Quito.
'Inclement weather kept many people home, while
troops stationed along thc highways slowed the mar-
chers' progress toward the capital.
Colombia
Violence during the Columbus Day weekend was
limited largely to several low-intensity bombings as
In Bogo-
ta. four bombs exploded near police stations on II
October
Terrorists also bombed statues of King Ferdi-
nand and Isabella. The guerrillas, who began their
nationwide offensive on 20 October, may have de-
layed their attacks because of heightened security or
may have intentionally sought to confuse the military
by launching attacks after their announced starting
dale of the offensive.
Peru
Both of Peru's active insurgent groups, Sendcro Lu-
ininoso (SLI and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement (MRTA), conducted attacks over the Co-
lumbus Day weekend. MRTA marked the anniversa-
ry by launching several low-risk, standoff attacks
against Peruvian. US, and Spanish targets. SL's
attacks, which included selective assassinations and
the massacre of 48 Andean villagers, took place one
month after the capture of SL leader Abimael Guz-
man and do not appear to have been directly related
to the Columbus Day anniversary.
MRTA�in an apparent attempt to boost morale
among its combatants and prove its continued viabili-
ty�conducted the most spectacular anti-US incident
during the Quincentennial by firing four mortar
rounds on the US Ambassador's residence in Lima on
10 October. All of the rounds missed their mark; one
fell in a nearby park and two exploded outside the
residence's perimeter wall, causing little damage. The
following day, MRTA conducted a mortar attack
against the Peruvian Presidential Palace that also
missed its target. On 13 October, MRTA members
took control of a UPI office in Lima and broadcast a
prerecorded tape in which the group claimed credit
for the two mortar attacks and the bombing of a
Spanish bank in Lima. The message also denounced
Columbus, the government, and the upcoming nation-
al election.
Dominican Republic
Leftist groups staged strikes and demonstrations and
conducted several minor bombings to protest the
Dominican Republic's lavish official Columbus Day
celebrations, which included the interment of Colum-
bus's alleged remains at a new, multimillion-dollar
lighthouse built in his honor. Protesters staged violent
demonstrations in several cities after police shot and
killed a demonstrator on 20 September. In Santiago,
masked youths protesting "500 years of extermina-
tion" burned tires and clashed with the security
forces. In another city, confrontations between police
and protesters resulted in the injury of 10 policemen
and one demonstrator. Bombs damaged three hotels
and a cathedral in the capital on 6 October. The
attacks may have been conducted by the Dominican
Communist Party (PCD), which reportedly planned a
wave of urban bombin s to disrupt the Quincenten-
nial celebrations.
The Collective of Popular Organizations (COP), a
peasant labor group, organized a series of labor strikes
during the period of the 500th anniversary celebra-
tions. Strikes in three cities resulted in pipe bombings
aimed primarily against government buildings. A pipe
bomb thrown from a motorcycle in Esperanza wound-
ed four young girls. Although a bomb was thrown at a
Coca-Cola truck that failed to honor one strike, the
strikes were not targeted against US interests.
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Turkey
One day after the Columbus anniversary, a small
bomb exploded at the Peruvian Consulate in Istanbul,
causing minor damage. Dev Sol took credit for the
attack, claiming solidarity with Sender() Luminoso
and denouncing the alleged mistreatment of captured
SL leader, Abimael Guzman. Less than a week before
the attack, approximately 80 Kurdish Workers Party
(PKK) and Dev Sol sympathizers conducted a pro-SL
demonstration in front or the Consulate. Dev Sol has
no known operational links to SL, but is often moti-
vated by international events and probably conducted
the pro-SL attack around the time of the Columbus
anniversary to gain publicity for its cause.
Lithuania
In Vilnius, 22 people from the Gediminas Youth
Movement, a group that advocates the return to
Lithuania's pre-Christian pagan traditions, staged a
peaceful demonstration outside the US Ambassador's
residence in Vilnius on 12 October, denouncing Co-
lumbus and alleged US Government oppression of
Native Americans
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Latin America
Colombia British Hostage Killed
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) insurgents apparently killed
Peter Arthur Kessler, a British businessman, during a rescue attempt by the
military on 24 October, A government spokesman
stated that the FARC insurgents killed Kessler to facilitate their escape from a
pursuing Army unit. It is possible, however, that Kessler was caught in a crossfire
between the two forces. FARC insurgents frequently kidnap employees of foreign-
owned corporations to obtain large ransoms, usually releasing them unharmed
after their demands are met. The Colombian military has been criticized in the
past for its heavyhanded rescue methods that often have led to serious injuries or
death to kidnap victims.
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