Michael Martin Dwyer
Encyclopedia
Michael Dwyer was shot dead by Bolivian Police on April 16, 2009, by Police Special Forces, in the Las Americas Hotel, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
, Bolivia
.
native Dwyer graduated with a BSc
in Construction Management from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
in 2008. From February to late October he was a Team Leader for the security firm Integrated Risk Management Services
(I-RMS) at the controversial
Shell
gas pipeline site in Rossport
, County Mayo
despite not holding the required Static Security license. It was there Dwyer reportedly met Tibor Révész and Előd Tóásó.
In Santa Cruz he joined the armed entourage of Eduardo Rózsa-Flores
. The media has speculated that the link between Dwyer and Rózsa-Flores was former I-RMS employee Tibor Révész. Revesz is also the founding member of the Szekler Legion, a paramilitary group that wants autonomy for Hungarians living in Romania. An unsigned posting on the Szekler Legion website last October called for people to send their CVs to a stated email address if they believed they could assist an unnamed man – now believed to be Flores – in the protection of his “homeland”, Santa Cruz. Dwyer had supposedly travelled to Bolivia to attend a bodyguard course but no evidence for such a course exists. Rózsa-Flores and his companions stay in hotels were all paid for by third parties.
They were the only guests on the fourth floor, in a row of five rooms. Having located their quarry, police silently made their way upstairs. The next thing the two staff members on duty heard was a huge explosion that shook the building, followed by 10 to 15 minutes of intense gunfire, “a rain of bullets” in the words of the night manager. Dwyer was shot dead along with Árpád Magyarosi and Rózsa-Flores. Mario Tadic and Előd Tóásó were taken prisoner.
He had two guns and several rounds of ammunition in his room, according to a police report and gunpowder residue on his hands. Ballistics reports show that two shots were fired from his room.
The Bolivian autopsy by Antonio Torres Bulanza and Rafael Vargas Peña, of the Instituto de Investigaciones Forenses, showed Dwyer had six bullet entrance wounds with three exit wounds and the trajectory was from the back to the front, slightly from below to above, that his heart was intact and the cause of death was hypovolaemic shock (acute blood loss) from multiple thoracic injuries by bullets.
have demanded an independent international inquiry.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Background
BallinderryBallinderry
Ballinderry is a small civil and ecclesiastical parish on both sides of the County Londonderry / County Tyrone border in Northern Ireland. It is a rural parish of about 350 houses and lies on the western shores of Lough Neagh....
native Dwyer graduated with a BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
in Construction Management from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology is a third level institute of education and is based at five locations in the west of Ireland.-Galway Campus:...
in 2008. From February to late October he was a Team Leader for the security firm Integrated Risk Management Services
Integrated Risk Management Services
Integrated Risk Management Services is the trading name of a private security company Business Mobile Security Services Ltd based in Naas, Ireland. I-RMS are licensed by the Private Security Authority, the statutory body responsible for licensing and regulation of the private security industry in...
(I-RMS) at the controversial
Corrib gas controversy
The Corrib gas controversy concerns plans by Shell E&P Ireland, Statoil Exploration Limited, Vermilion Energy Trust and the Irish government for processing the Corrib gas field through Broadhaven Bay and Sruth Fada Conn Bay in Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo, and objections raised against...
Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
gas pipeline site in Rossport
Rossport
Ros Dumhach is a Gaeltacht village and townland in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is within the barony of Erris and parish of Kilcommon...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
despite not holding the required Static Security license. It was there Dwyer reportedly met Tibor Révész and Előd Tóásó.
Bolivia
In November 2008 he travelled to Bolivia from Madrid with three former I-RMS employees. According to La Prensa, the people who travelled with Dwyer on November 17, 2008 were (Tibor) Révész, (Gábor) Dudog and (Ivan) Pistovcak.In Santa Cruz he joined the armed entourage of Eduardo Rózsa-Flores
Eduardo Rózsa-Flores
Eduardo Rózsa-Flores was a Bolivian-Hungarian mercenary, journalist, actor, and secret agent. Born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, he was known in Hungary as Rózsa-Flores Eduardo or Rózsa György Eduardo...
. The media has speculated that the link between Dwyer and Rózsa-Flores was former I-RMS employee Tibor Révész. Revesz is also the founding member of the Szekler Legion, a paramilitary group that wants autonomy for Hungarians living in Romania. An unsigned posting on the Szekler Legion website last October called for people to send their CVs to a stated email address if they believed they could assist an unnamed man – now believed to be Flores – in the protection of his “homeland”, Santa Cruz. Dwyer had supposedly travelled to Bolivia to attend a bodyguard course but no evidence for such a course exists. Rózsa-Flores and his companions stay in hotels were all paid for by third parties.
Death in Bolivia
Following a bombing on April 15 at the home of Julio Cardinal Terrazas , the next day (April 16) at around 4:00 a.m. some thirty members of an elite police squad swarmed into the hotel, cut the phone line, and demanded that night staff tell them where Flores and his entourage were staying.They were the only guests on the fourth floor, in a row of five rooms. Having located their quarry, police silently made their way upstairs. The next thing the two staff members on duty heard was a huge explosion that shook the building, followed by 10 to 15 minutes of intense gunfire, “a rain of bullets” in the words of the night manager. Dwyer was shot dead along with Árpád Magyarosi and Rózsa-Flores. Mario Tadic and Előd Tóásó were taken prisoner.
He had two guns and several rounds of ammunition in his room, according to a police report and gunpowder residue on his hands. Ballistics reports show that two shots were fired from his room.
Autopsies
An Irish state pathologist, Marie Cassidy, told the inquest into his death that Dwyer died from six gunshot wounds to the chest. She said that the post mortem on Dwyer in Bolivia was incomplete.The Bolivian autopsy by Antonio Torres Bulanza and Rafael Vargas Peña, of the Instituto de Investigaciones Forenses, showed Dwyer had six bullet entrance wounds with three exit wounds and the trajectory was from the back to the front, slightly from below to above, that his heart was intact and the cause of death was hypovolaemic shock (acute blood loss) from multiple thoracic injuries by bullets.
Inquiry demand by Dwyer's family
The Dwyer family and the Irish Minister for Foreign AffairsMinister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Government of Ireland. Its headquarters are at Iveagh House, on St Stephen's Green in Dublin; "Iveagh House" is often used as a metonym for the department as a whole.The current...
have demanded an independent international inquiry.