From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Colombia blocks IS-linked plot to kill US diplomats
Police in Colombia have arrested a Cuban man suspected of plotting to kill American diplomats in the name of the Islamic State.
Police in Spain say they had been monitoring the online activities of the suspect, Raul Gutierrez, and that over a period of several weeks he showed signs of gradual indoctrination in radical Islam. In late February he allegedly said he had obtained an arsenal of explosives that he planned to detonate at a popular dining area in Bogota frequented by US diplomats.
He was arrested Monday in the western city of Pereiera as a result of the operation between Spanish authorities, the FBI and Colombian police.
Gutierrez pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance yesterday.
The US Embassy in Colombia did not immediately comment.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.